Aaron Collins' EndG8 Part 2: Steamoglyphics
by Psychoflop
Summary: A travelling circus reaches Cairo


EndG8

Part 2: Steamoglyphics

Chapter 1: The Tent Closes (Days spent on Aaronworld: -1991)

 _Author's note: While I know a few basic phrases of Arabic, I needed to use Google translate for most of the Arabic that your read here. While the translations were near-perfect, putting them into an open-source word processor lead to a few snags and while I have tried to fix the glitches, I can't fix all of them. My sincerest apologies, I did the best that I could. Enjoy!_

 _Song to put on: Metallica—Wherever I May Roam_

"شكرا لكم على حضوركم، انه لشرف لأداء في بلدك. (Thank you for coming, it is an honour to perform in your country.)"

It was a kind and dignified finale to an enchanted evening, the first for Legend's Circus in this continent. The ringleader (Joseph Pauletich) had a look of relief on his face. Relief for a successful first night in Africa (the outskirts of Cairo, Socialist Republic of Egypt to be precise) and relief that he didn't screw up his first attempt at publicly speaking Arabic.

The ladies, the gentlemen, the boys, the girls and the children of all ages began to exit the tent as Joe returned the waves of the kids who waved goodbye. But that was not all that the seasoned ringmaster observed:

"So it is true. The women do walk behind the men here." he whispered.

Joe had shoulder length grey hair well hidden in a simple black felt top hat, a navy blue silk cape draped over a white cotton, long-sleeved dress shirt and black pants that while looking professional, Joe didn't mind if the occasional wind of sand hit them as they had set up the tent outside of town as per the local law. The tent was a traditional red and yellow model and measured 80 feet high from ground to the big top with 10-row high bleacher seating on the northernmost 180 degrees. The southern half was home to the trapeze in the middle, the Main stage to the right and the "backstage area" to the left (which little more than a changing area for Joe and the performers). By now, enough of the crowd had exited the tent that Joe could begin his next task as ringmaster: putting out the candles that lit the tent's interior (and somewhat warmed it as well as the desert around them got to near-freezing temperatures at night). Joe took out a long silver miniature ladle from a pocket hidden in his cape and began putting out the candle's flames when 3 men entered the tent. They were of similar height, and wore matching beige pants, shirts and jackets. The only items that distinguished the items were a large 5 feet tall standing camera with its' own tripod (that was being setup by the man on the left from Joe's vantage point) and a large notepad carried by the man to Joe's right (How he got a lead pencil into Egypt cheaply was something Joe wondered silently).

This would normally be a cause for alarm but Joe had been expecting them all day:

"مساء الخير، أيها السادة. (Good evening, gentlemen)"

"نجاح باهر، أنت تعرف اللغة العربية؟ (Wow, you know Arabic?)"

Joe smiled (as he again got the pronunciations of the individual words right) "استغرق مني 4 سنوات للحصول على أداء هنا، تعلمت ما بوسعي. بقية الطاقم للأسف لا يمكن للجزء الأكبر (Took me 4 years to get to perform here, I learned what I could. The rest of the crew unfortunately can't for the most part)"

This interviewer nodded, understanding completely "We'll proceed in English then. How was the first night?"

Joe noticed that only 1 of the 3 members of the "press" were actually speaking (to him or anyone else), but didn't press the matter as he did not want to be perceived as rude.

"It was a great night, but I sensed that the crowd was apprehensive throughout the evening, especially in the beginning. I understand completely as this is the first foreign travelling circus to ever visit your country. I told my clown who you will be meeting a little later to do an extra lap or 2 each time she came out because in the end, we're just here to make your city smile. I think we overdid it though, so lees is more for the second night"

If the taker of notes didn't speak English, he could certainly write it. The press leader snapped his fingers, as if his mind had forgotten something important.

"We're the Shalhoub brothers. I'm Omar, the camera man's name is Saddam and my note taker is Osama."

Joe merely smiled and nodded as he also forgot a proper introduction himself "I'm Ringmaster Joe. Egypt is not a hand-shaking culture, is it?"

Omar shook his head "Not as a rule, but no one will flat-out turn down a handshake if it's offered. Disease is not as controlled here as it may be in other places. We haven't had a plague in over a century but minor illnesses tend to persist across North Africa. The dry climate does help matters, though."

"I'm glad to have asked. We're just guests here, after all." replied Joe.

"OK, we already have your name. Where are you from?"

Joe cleared his throat, as he knew that for this question he had to choose his words carefully "Great Neck Island, New Jersey. We seceded from the state of New York a few months ago so, I have no idea if the World Atlases have had their maps updated yet."

Omar thought about that for a moment, only responding "I'm pretty sure they will be soon enough, I'll try to run a map as a sidebar if I have the space. Now we know already that you're the ringleader, how long have you had this role?"

Some confidence returned to Joe in his answer "Almost 30 years. I worked primarily on Coney Island for the first 10 years making money guessing people's weight and dealing a 3 card Monte table. I gained enough respect on the island for running an honest table (most 3 card Monte tables are run by hustlers who con the customers with sleight of hand, crooked shuffles and such) to be invited to learn ringmastery at NJU (an invitation-only school). How to organize a show on your own, gain a crowd's attention and business management are the 3 key components of that 2-year program. I graduated top of my class as I interned for extra credit through my professor, Dr. Mickey Mantle who ran his own circus across the Northeast United States during his semesters off (mainly in the summertime). He even vouched for me when I got a loan from the Bank of America to start Legends Circus. I did 20 shows a week just to make sure my crew was taken care of while I paid off the loan. 4 years later, I was given a 'paid in full' certificate from the bank...on the same day, Professor Mantle died from drinking too much alcohol in one weekend. I buried that certificate with him."

Omar was shocked at that story, and had no idea what the right choice of words were. His journalism training told him to bring the interviewee back to topic: "What are you most looking forward to during your time in Cairo?"

"Well, we're not here very long unfortunately..." began Joe. "...I'm looking most forward to building a bridge of peace so that other circuses from outside of Africa can start coming here to perform. I know that doesn't sound like a good business decision but I would rather improve the carnival business with diplomacy than with ruthlessness. It's all about the people...and on that note, let me introduce you to my crew."

By the time Joe had said that, the crew themselves had already put out the candles (as Joe was supposed to) and had begun folding the bleachers (as the moon was quite bright outside). Joe scanned his crew hard at work, looking for a good one to start with. It didn't take him long to find one:

"Ahh, there we go, follow me."

He motioned the press to follow him to the 2nd to be interviewed. They started with an older brunette woman wearing a long brown jacket and whose face was red from what appeared to be wiping her face repeatedly and very quickly. Joe knew that he could leave them to conduct their business as they were well-adjusted adults.

"Feel free to browse my crew gentlemen. If you'll excuse me, I have a tent to help take down."

 _Song to put on: Barbara Streisand – Send in the Clowns_

Omar waved him off and nodded, "Hello, I'm Omar with the city newspaper. What might your name be?"

This woman looked up and smiled, a smile that indicated that she wasn't interviewed by herself very often.

"Jeanie Gotcher, how do you do?"

She had begun to stick her hand to shake, then remembered that that was somewhat frowned upon here, so she (not knowing the protocol, exactly) made a slight bow (while maintaining eye contact with him). Omar returned the bow, as it was unusual, but he saw the respect in it.

"Where are you from?"

"Lampasas, Texas."

"What is your part in this circus?"

"I'm the clown. I walk in a semi-circle anywhere between once to 2 dozen times a show (sometimes I do it upside down, but not as often as I used to), I keep the crowd's energy up throughout the show, I do whatever I can to make the people smile, especially the children."

"And how long have you been doing this for?"

"40 years altogether but 6 with this crew exclusively. Circuses in Texas aren't profitable unless you work beyond the Mexico line, and that's illegal due to travel laws between Mexico and the U.S."

Omar raised an eyebrow, completely confused. Jeanie nodded, agreeing with his facial expressions "It's actually less of a hassle to join a crew in the northern half of the United States than it is to work the country next door to my home state. And there are no Federales looking to chop off the hands of a legitimate entertainer up north."

Omar actually burst out in a nervous laughter, only to stop 3 seconds later when he could see that Jeanie was dead serious.

"What are you looking forward to the most in your time here in Cairo?"

Jeanie paused for a moment before answering: "To prove to the fans of the circus around the world that laughter is global. We could run a show in America, here, Europe (which we're going to next after we're finished here) and there will be a lot of children who laugh at the clown making a fool of herself with a red nose on her face."

Omar nodded, "I for one can definitely agree with that, thank you very much for your time."

"My pleasure." replied Jeanie. Another exchange of bows took place before they went in separate directions.

"Wow, my gender wasn't made an issue. What was the point of the struggle to perform here when we're all just human beings at the end of the day?" asked Jeanie to herself.

Omar walked around with his partners close behind him, all of whom were very impressed as to how easily the entire tent was being dismantled when the crew was co-operating. But 1 girl was working alone, and positioning her body in a way that she could pop the interlocking joints of the tent and release the catches to fold the bleachers at the same time. No one else was doing it that way (in fact, everyone else was at least close together, if not working with a partner or 2), and Omar knew that this should be the third person to be interviewed. He motioned for his cameraman and note taker to follow him more closely.

"Hello. My name is Omar, what's your name?"

"They call me Contortionist Kate."

 _Song to put on: Finger Eleven – Bones and Joints_

Omar looked at his 2 associates, who merely shrugged their shoulders as to what she meant. All 3 were completely in the dark.

"I'm sorry madam, but you have me at a bit of a disadvantage. I don't know what the English word 'Contortionist' means and neither do my associates."

Kate made a semi-assertive "Hmm" noise before releasing the latest bleacher catch (a small piece of metal similar to a deadbolt on a door, a constant on every bleacher in the tent). She then sat down in the sand (knowing that it stained her tight white pants and short-sleeved shirt even as her feet were on top of her knees). After a couple of deep breaths, she put her feet behind her head with her hands, then pushed herself off of the sand with her hands and actually began walking around the sand like a crab. After a good 30 seconds of this demonstration, Joe shouted:

"Kate, they're not paying customers!"

"Sorry sir, Mr. Omar asked me to define contortionist."

Joe eventually nodded as Kate unbent herself and stood up, "So that's what a contortionist is. Someone who can bend their bodies more than others can."

Both of Omar's eyebrows raised this time, "How long have you been like this?"

"Oh, I've been this way since the day I was born. I've been getting paid for it for 18 years, though." said Kate very seriously.

"Whereabouts are you from?"

"Toronto, Ontario."

Omar smiled. "I knew there were Canadians here."

It took Kate a moment to understand his excitement. In fairness to his point of view, Canadians didn't come here often as sailing the seas was by no means cheap. And those that did weren't usually interesting enough to warrant an interview for a newspaper.

"What are you most looking forward to while you're in Cairo?"

"Oh, that's a tough one. Well, I love the wide open spaces even though I can fit into tight ones. Also, I hear you sell handcuffs to the public here. I've always wanted to know if I was good enough to escape them. Escape artists are a rarity in our business so it would be new trade for me."

Omar nodded as the note taker finished, "How resourceful of you, thank you for your time."

"My pleasure." replied Kate with a smile as they exchanged bows.

"نأمل ان نتمكن من الحصول على نزوة آخر المقبل (Hope we get another freak next)" stated the camera man who by now had left his camera in the middle of the circus as he knew he could trust those around him not to steal, including the bearded lady who walked by...

...which made Omar and his sidekicks stop dead in their tracks.

"OK، وقالت انها القادمة (OK, she's next)." declared Omar.

"نعم يا سيدي (Yes sir)." said the note taker with a grin. None of the local circuses had a bearded lady as an attraction (as most women covered their faces anyway).

"Pardon me madam, may we have a few moments of your time, please?"

She turned around, and both her beard and the hair on her head (of which there was enough to reach her shoulders) were pure silver.

"Of course, most of the press back home skips me, if not all of the freak side of the show."

 _Song to put on: Benny Bell – Shaving Cream_

"Your name, please?" asked Omar.

"Laurie Stansfield."

"Whereabouts are you from?"

"Vancouver, Oregon Territory."

Omar gulped. That was a part of the world he had never thought he would interview any of its' inhabitants.

"I'm...so sorry." was all that came out of Omar's mouth. Laurie nodded, knowing that he was apprehensive to be near her and not because she had a man's beard. She needed to reassure him as to what she was, not where she came from.

"I'm not part of the war. I promise, I never was. Canada and the United States arguing over same piece of land for 150 years is just pointless. I left that place once the urban legends started about..."

Laurie took a deep breath. Omar could tell that she was afraid to speak, and had been for some time. At least 2 decades according to his intuition.

"...the concentration camps. Of course, both the American and Canadian governments deny having them but...I still smell the bodies burning."

Omar motioned to the note taker to cross out that part. For it would darken the article that was supposed to be light-hearted and fun, like the circus itself. The note taker obliged, without question.

"So you're the bearded lady we tend to not have in the local circuses?"

Laurie nodded, beginning to calm down.

"And how long have you been in the circus circuit?"

"23 years, pretty much exclusively to this circus. I take time off now and then to relax."

"I understand. Finally, What are you looking forward to the most with your time in Cairo?"

Laurie's answer was a flat one, "It's the farthest most of us have ever been away from our homes. That's enough for me."

Omar nodded, there was no bow this time and Omar understood why. He hit a nerve, and even though he was a journalist, he was a human being first.

"Sorry..." he whispered. Laurie didn't have to hear it, it was her skeleton in the closet, and hers alone.

Omar tried to distract himself from feeling the pain of the bearded lady when he saw another woman examining her sides and stomach on a reflective surface. At first glance, this would appear to be a woman of vanity staring at her own perceived beauty. Omar then looked closer...

...she wasn't vain at all. In fact, she was checking her belly and sides for bruises. She quickly put her blue wool sweater on as she was approached by Omar and his men.

"Sorry to trouble you, do you have a few moments to spare?" he asked softly.

"Oh of course. If I was showing more skin than I was supposed to in your country, I am deeply sorry if I offended you."

Omar waved it off. "Not at all. I know that some of my fellow Egyptians are very traditional, but not all of us. I'm Omar."

"Laura...how do you do?

"Well, thank you. And yourself?"

"I'm...relieved. I took that cannonball clean. I've had some mishaps from time to time."

 _Song to put on: Van Halen – Fire In the Hole_

"Was it a big ball?" was about the only question Omar could think to ask.

Laura nodded before adding "A 16 pounder. That's actually standard for my trade. I only started getting regular work when I trained my stomach past 12 pounds, that took me 2 years. I've been doing 16's for about a decade now and I don't think I can go any higher. Then again, most who try 20's don't live to tell the tale afterwards. The trick is your relative distance between your body and the cannon. Too close and you don't have enough time to prepare your abdominal muscles. Too far away and the cannonball is less likely to hit you in the stomach. In fact, you can pretty much kiss a knee goodbye if you're not careful."

Omar nodded thoughtfully. He had actually recalled an article from a 4-year old newspaper that was thrown out by a boat passenger from some township called "Sudbury" of a young woman who took a cannonball too close and broke 8 ribs. He was certain that this was the same woman who was nicknamed "Miracle Laura" (as she luckily didn't puncture a lung or her stomach)

"You tried an 18-pounder from 1.2 metres once, did you not?"

Laura was both impressed and embarrassed that a stranger on another continent knew about that night that she tried to forget.

"That was a long time ago." she muttered while blushing. Omar noticed and changed topic.

"What are you looking forward to the most in Cairo?"

Laura stared at the roof of the tent while replying "The Nile."

Omar accepted that short answer, as it was one of the main attractions that his country ever had "Thank you for your time."

Laura nodded as the note taker pointed to an older gentleman. He had long hair like Ringmaster Joe, only not as grey. He seemed to be occupied with cleaning the last of several swords. Each sword seemed to be 50 centimetres long with blades reaching 5 centimetres wide at the base of the handle.

"What do you with those?"

"I swallow them."

 _Song to put on: Machinehead – Night of Long Knives_

Omar gulped. Which provoked a giggle from this...swallower of swords.

"I'm rickety blade Rick."

Omar stuck out his hand, he and Rick shook immediately (despite Rick knowing that it was unusual for people to shake hands in this country).

"Omar, pleasure to meet you. Those blades don't look rickety."

Rick chuckled again "No, I'll grant you that. I recently bought these ones."

Omar squirmed slightly "I'm not even going to ask how you do it."

"Good, because I wasn't going to tell you."

"Fair enough. Can you at least tell me how long you've been doing it?"

Rick actually needed a moment to add up the years he had been on this job. "Oh, about 35 years or so. Self-trained as no one in Ontario wants a sword swallowing training mishap on their hands, especially in Newmarket where I grew up."

"Are you going to try picking up an Arabic blade while you're here?" asked Omar. Rick immediately shook his head.

"Oh god no, they're way too thick. If they didn't cut me, I'd gag and vomit all over them. I'm looking forward to trying Egyptian food for the first time though. We all are."

"Can you at least tell me what you're using to clean your swords?" asked Omar cautiously,

"Oh, of course." replied Rick who waved him closer to the swords. Omar immediately noticed a large bucket with a clear liquid in it that smelled like extremely concentrated orange juice.

"I take one cotton rag with this stuff on it, which I call Mirachem and wipe down the sword or swords that I used. Then I take a dry cotton rag and wipe the mirachem off because metal cleaner this strong is extremely poisonous, so I have to be very careful."

Omar nodded, "I bet that you do, sir. Thank you for your time."

"Thank YOU, sir." said Rick with enthusiasm.

"OK، من التالي؟ (OK, who's next?)" asked Omar to his cameraman.

"كيف حول هذا الرجل هناك للطي له أرجوحة شبكة الأمان؟ (How about that guy over there folding his trapeze safety net?)"

"OK، فإننا سوف نلقي نظرة في وجهه (OK, we'll take a look at him)"

They walked over to a man, short, early 30's (and Omar asked himself if he was from Asia) taking very meticulous care to roll his safety net in order to pack it away without damaging it. Omar respected that entirely, as the camera (and a few other pieces of media equipment) had to be put away each night in a similar manner. Omar even waited until he was finished before he approached him.

"Have I caught you at a bad time?"

"No sir, my partner deals with the rest."

"OK, I'm Omar."

"Isaac, the Legends Circus first trapeze artist."

"How do you do? Chinese mainland?"

"No, Hong Kong, U.S. territory."

"DAMN!" exclaimed Omar with some frustration. Isaac was more understanding of the wrong guess:

"Hey, don't worry about it. A lot of people make that guess."

"How long have you been on the trapeze?"

"9 years, no accidents. I was trained by Chinese acrobats and Ninjas. That's why I look stocky but can catch my partner so perfectly."

Omar did in fact note that, as trapeze artists tended to be tall and wiry. 2 things that this Isaac fellow was not.

"Looking forward to anything special while you're in Cairo?" asked Omar.

"The animals. As you may or may not know, we run an animal free circus here. I don't profess to know how you run your local shows but in North America we have been experiencing a change in how we run ours: Most of our competition has been investigated and even put out of business for acts of animal cruelty and abuse. As we have a deep respect for the animal kingdom, we have elected to keep our show animal free so that we're not even investigated. I concede that we do lose a few customers as a lot of kids want to see a lion get tamed or ride an elephant but our consciences are clear."

"I respect that, thank you very much for your time."

"My pleasure."

"من الجحيم هو هذا الرجل، عمر؟ (Who the hell is that guy, Omar?)"

" نعم، انه للطي المدرجات بنفسه، وقال انه يفعل ذلك 3 (Yeah, he's folding the bleachers by himself, And he's doing it 3 times as fast as any pair in this circus)"

Omar merely smiled as he answered "أعتقد أنه من الأسلم أن نقول أننا وجدنا الرجل القوي في السيرك، هيا أيها السادة. (I think it's safe to say that we found the strongman of the circus, come on gentlemen)"

 _Song to put on: Buckethead—Crane_

He was the best physical specimen in the crew (by far). Nearly 2 metres tall, not an ounce of fat on him, putting away equipment that easily weighted 300 kg.

"I take it that you're the muscle of this circus?"

"Yes sir. Tyrone 'The Black Viking' Magnus, resident strongman and bare-knuckle brawler when the circuses are adults-only. And you are?"

"Omar, resident media."

"Good, haven't been to a camera town in a while. I like talking to the press more than most of the freaks, even more than most normies actually."

"Normies?" asked Omar as he had never heard of that word. Tyrone was quick to clarify his word:

"Yeah. In any given circus you have your freaks and you have your normies. Freaks are people that normally scare away other people from buying a ticket such as me, bearded Laurie and a few of the others. Whereas the normies do the more mundane acts like juggle and dress up as a clown. Each group of us could make a little money by ourselves, but put us together in a symbiotic relationship, and we make substantially more money together."

"Oh. I understand now. How long have you been the strongman?"

"15 years, give or take. But I've been into bodybuilding since I was 5. I just turned 37 not long ago."

"Where are you from, exactly?"

"Cherry Hill, New Jersey. It's a small farming town of less than 1500 people not too far from Philadelphia, Maryland."

Omar was silently grateful for that last piece of information. He only really knew the major cities of North America so when he interviewed people from that continent, he would need an atlas after the interview was over just to find these small towns and farming communities. They (the atlases) were not cheap, and he was only about 60% successful in finding all of these towns and townships.

"Looking forward to anything special while you're in Cairo?"

"Yes, the second show we're doing. I've never tried this new weight I just acquired. Oh, you meant while I'm here as a guest?"

Omar nodded.

"The steam baths that you guys have here. I hear that they're much classier here than they are back home and to be honest, we could all use a wash."

"If you're staying at a proper hotel..."

"...we are." interrupted Tyrone.

Omar nodded, walked closer to Tyrone and whispered "...then you shouldn't have a problem. But unless you like it sexy, only 4 of you will be able to bathe at a time at the absolute most."

Tyrone shuddered at the concept of sharing a hotel bathtub with a business associate of his, especially if it was another guy. "Thanks for the advice."

"Thank YOU for your time." replied Omar with a smile.

Omar looked around the tent in order to determine who to talk to next. He didn't mean to overhear the following between Joe and a woman of similar age and appearance to Jeanie the clown:

"Are you still having the nightmares?" asked Joe.

"I am and so is Livy. First we see a beach, then that beach isn't there. Then we see people that shouldn't be here on this world briefly glitch into this world. Then we see ourselves on worlds where we shouldn't even exist. Then we see...2 different massacres, and we burn to death over a period of several hours either way."

Joe then put a comforting hand on this woman's shoulder while almost whispering "I'm sorry, I wish that there was something I could do for you 2, especially Livy."

"It's OK boss, I know that no matter what happens, It'll be over soon. A few weeks in total elapsed time at the most."

Joe merely shrugged, as he was at a total loss "I'd try to telegram our backer, but..."

"It won't reach him. Something tells me that our Aaron is either deeply hidden or dead now."

Omar motioned his crew to follow him to this lady. If nothing else, she could use the distraction for a few minutes.

"Hello there, may we..."

"Yes, Omar. You can have 5 minutes with me."

"How did you..."

"Know your name already? I'm the fortune teller of this ragtag bunch of misfits. The name's Gloria."

"I guess that you would be a scam artist if you didn't already know my name, then."

 _Song to put on: Rush – Peaceable Kingdom_

"Indeed, sir. I've been in the psychic game since I was a little girl in Ottawa, Quebec. My first vision was Quebec buying the capital city of Canada with its' budget surplus and then separating from the country. I've been highly sought after around the world ever since."

"Wow, that was 43 years ago." remarked Omar, who had learned about it in history class when he was a little boy himself.

"I'm looking forward to trying some local rum. But alcohol is a bit hard to find here because of the Islamic religion, isn't it?"

"Not as hard as it used to be. It became easier once we realized that we were losing tourists due to our...prohibition? Is that..."

"...Yes, that's the right word."

"...thank you..."

"You're welcome."

"Anyways, all hotels have fully stocked bars for their guests. You might even have it refrigerated if you're lucky."

Gloria was very excited to hear that.

"Really? That's great. We're used to room temperature alcohol but we had some cold stuff when we played Washington, Virginia and we fell in love with how much better it tasted. I hope for a day where all alcohol is kept cold."

Omar nodded "From what I hear, it keeps the alcohol fresher over a longer period of time. Anyways, thank you for your time."

"My pleasure. Oh, and congratulations. Your wife is pregnant."

Omar had no idea that she was, so to say that he was stunned while Gloria left his company was an understatement. It took him the better part of 2 minutes for him to snap out of the shock. When he did, it was due to hearing someone making strange noises behind. The noises were similar to one being constipated, although when Omar turned around, it was a young man (early 30's) attempting to pull a knife out of a wooden wheel.

 _Song to put on: Roadrunner United – The Dagger_

"I...really...need...to learn...to stop...throwing my knives so goddamn hard"

Omar took a pair of black animal skin gloves out of his pants pocket and put them on quickly.

"Need some help pulling out?"

"Yes, please." this man answered.

Omar nodded and they began pulling the knife out of the wheel in tandem. It was out after the third try.

"Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome. I'm Omar."

"James, Knife thrower specialist, though obviously not in removal."

"How long have you been doing this?"

"11 years counting my training from the RCMP...oh, sorry...that's Royal Canadian Mounted Police. They noticed that I had a knack for throwing knives at suspects so they nurtured my talents, just got a new partner to throw at though. My last one says she was overdue to get killed so she bailed on us when we finished up in Spain last month. You'll see the new one a little later on."

"I'm sure I will. I can tell from your accent that you're another Canadian but I can't quite make out where exactly in Canada you're from."

"Born in Ottawa, Quebec but I grew up all over Ontario."

"OK, that explains it. What are you most looking forward to while you're in Cairo?"

James got caught off guard "Oh that's a tough one. Maybe get some new blades to throw. I've been saving up my cut of the score so I can get precision made and weighted blades. I've never had them before, and it would make my job a lot easier."

"The Cairo morning market should be able to accommodate you if you have the time. They sell just about everything on the Pharaoh strip. Thank you for your time."

"Thanks for your help, and the info." replied James as he began packing his knives in a special black briefcase. James then turned his head 20 or 30 degrees to the right and shouted, "Flannagan, when are you going to juggle something risky for a change?"

 _Song to put on: Bill Conti – You're the best_

Omar then turned to who James was shouting at. He appeared to be about the same age as James, but was many centimetres taller. He had a bag instead of the case that James had, black and holding small balls, bowling pins and gloves similar to the ones that Omar just put on to help James.

"Those look a lot safer to handle than what I just helped your associate pull out of his wheel."

"He does it to himself every single time he throws those things. You're the press?"

Omar nodded.

"David Flannagan, 4-time Canadian juggling champion and hopefully future world record holder in most objects continuously juggled."

Omar remembered reading about his first Canadian title, but never thought he would meet him in person (or that he would have 4 championships by now).

"It's an honour to meet you, sir. I bet you've training for this all of your life."

"Indeed I have. Nearly 28 years, since I began primary school actually."

"Are you a Toronto boy?"

David nodded, as Brampton was close enough to Toronto to not nitpick or get upset. Omar threw his fist at his increasing talent of determining where a person came from based entirely on their voice.

"What are you most looking forward to in your time in Cairo?" asked Omar in a futile attempt to return to the topic at hand.

"To break the world record during our second show. Someone is coming in all the way from London representing Guinness just for the occasion."

Omar was too impressed at the determination of David F. "Good luck to you, sir. Thank you for your time."

"Take it easy, my friend."

As Omar's gaze left David, it fixated on another David (that he already knew of quite well). Whereas the first one juggled mere objects, this one juggled with emptying a large bucket of water carefully enough to drink from it without spilling any of it into the sand. Omar walked over and gently placed his hands on the bottom of the bucket, steadying the pouring of the water into this David's mouth. Again, Omar already knew who this one was, and had since he was a small boy. David #2 gave him a thumbs up, and they steadily lowered the bucket to the ground together.

 _Song to put on: Arthur Brown—Fire_

"Thank you, mate. I'm getting a little old for this."

Omar smiled and nodded, which eventually grew into a shared laugh.

"Call me Omar. And go on sir, you're David Kay. No flame or curry is too hot for you to breathe."

David K. Laughed even harder now.

"I was your age when that was first on a poster." he thoughtfully recalled.

"I know, my family had one that you signed from some show that you did in Manchester, decades ago."

"Wow, I wonder how it got here."

"Paper drifts across the lands." was all Omar could answer with a slight shrug.

"Do you still have the poster? I'll sign it twice." asked David K. With some enthusiasm.

"Buried with my father, 2 years ago." replied Omar, sadly.

"Sorry to hear that." offered David K. As sincerely as he possibly could.

"The family is more concerned with grave robbers. It's the #1 crime in Egypt."

David K. Was about to argue that, but realized that if even half of the urban legends about those who tried to rob the pyramids of Egypt were even half-true, Omar would be correct in his statement.

"Now, what can I do for you?" asked David K.

"Well, I already know your name, that you're a proud Yorkshire boy, your role in the circus and that you've been in the game for 37 years so, what are you most looking forward to while you're in Cairo?"

"Just to represent the United Kingdom in being the best at what I do. Thanks again for the extra hands."

"My pleasure, it's an honour to finally meet you in person."

Omar walked a little taller for the rest of the day, even as he overheard: "Oh good, he pulled all of the blades out this time. The last 2 that James threw tonight almost hit me in the face."

 _Song to put on: Red Hot Chili Peppers – Scar Tissue_

This young lady then began checking her body for any cuts on it that her adrenaline wouldn't let her feel. If Omar had put into his article that this lady was free of scars, he would be lying to his readers. She then wiped her forehead in relief and exclaimed:

"Glad I met up with these guys in Rome 3 weeks ago. They take better care of me than my last circus, but at least I'm not homeless anymore so I really shouldn't be complaining."

"Hello, do you have a few moments?" asked Omar softly, as she seemed...more delicate than everyone that he had interviewed up to this point.

"Yes sir, James told me that you were asking everyone questions. My name is Miriam."

Hers was an accent that was new to Omar's ears, one that he could place somewhere in Northern Europe at best. He needed a moment to figure out a tactful way to ask her about it, but ultimately gave up.

"Where are you from?"

"Oslo, Finland!"

"Wow, were you part of the 3rd failed Norwegian uprising?"

"Oh no, I was 12 when that happened. My parents were part of it though, I might see them out of jail by the time I turn 30."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to hit a nerve with that question." offered Omar with whatever smile he could muster.

"It's OK. Everyone asks me that question at some point." replied Miriam reassuringly.

"You must be relatively new to the circus world."

"I suppose that I am new compared to most of the others, if not all of them. I've been in circuses for not even 4 years. It's not that hard, really. I just get on James' wheel, let him restrain my wrists, ankles and neck, let him spin the wheel with me on it, watch as he blindfolds himself then scream as he throws knives at me. I wish I could say that I'm here because of talent but I'm just the eye candy on the show."

"Are you looking forward to anything special while you're in Cairo?"

"Yeah that I'm not back in...Finland sharing a jail cell with my mom and dad." exclaimed Miriam in a way where she hated saying the word Finland as it was not her home.

"My sympathies, really. Thank you for your time."

"My pleasure. There's our magician over there, have you interviewed her yet?"

"No, thank you again."

Omar walked over to the south end of the tent and saw another young woman alone. This one however was not examining her own body, but 1 piece of her equipment...

 _Song to put on: Pantera – It make them disappear_

...a coin, that she held with her left hand, let go, waited 30 seconds (as the coin didn't drop more than a few centimetres before staying in the air completely on its' own) then let it rest in her right hand.

"I would ask you how you did that but..." began Omar.

"...I wouldn't tell you as you would print it and I would be ruined for the rest of my days. Hi, I'm Megan."

"Omar, are you...an Aussie?"

Megan sighed, mildly annoyed "Yes, you're wondering how I survived the earthquake, aren't you?"

"Yes, yes I am."

"I moved to Tasmania as a little girl so I was reasonably far away when the first tremors hit so we weren't as badly devastated."

"And you're a magician?"

"Yes, have been since about a year after the quake. My parents were in and out of jobs so I earned money after school. 25 years, and I'm only 32 of age. No cape though, too hot outside for me to wear one (and I'm not sure how ringmaster Joe wears one). I have no clue how Maestro Pauletich wears one here."

"What are you looking forward to the most in your time in Cairo?"

"I just love the adventure of it all. I'm not sure if anyone in my generation gets too far past Australia these days so I feel very blessed."

"Thank you very much for your time."

"You're welcome. How many more do you have left to interview?"

Omar struggled to to count how many he had done so far, but he knew that there were 16 in the circus altogether.

"2 to go I think, and one is named Livy I think."

Megan's faint smile turned into a serious frown very quickly, insisting "Olivia. Livy is a name only those of us who are close to her can use. She's very shy, even more shy than the conjoined twins but please address her as Olivia. Also, eye contact is a bit of an issue with her so if she's not staring at you directly, please don't take offence."

"I promise I won't" was the last statement Omar said to Megan before she began to resume packing her tricks.

 _Song to put on: Buckethead – Repair Station_

Omar noticed that the last girl to be interviewed taking what Isaac had already packed away and was re-organizing it as...

..."More space, everything is converging the old way. New way needs to be better, yes better. I can fix it, or maybe someone like me can. No they can't, they don't have a name for what I am here."

Omar looked at his assistants and whispered "والحفاظ على اللاعبين بع الخاص بك. سأذهب وحدها وأعتقد أن هذا واحد يحصل الفزع بسهولة، (I think this one gets spooked easily, keep your distance guys. I'll go alone)."

"Everything inside is converging, someone is trying to get inside and it's breaking all of the outsides."

"Hi, are you Olivia?"

Olivia looked in the opposite direction of where Omar was standing "Am I Olivia? Yes I am, at least I am here. Who might you be, good sir?"

"My name is Omar, I work with the newspaper here."

"You write, Isaac's friend writes and finances us. Isaac says I remind him of his writer friend and you're known as Barash elsewhere..."

Omar was terrified as Olivia walked around in a circle (but not because she was walking around in a circle), "How did you know my middle name was Barash?"

Olivia began laughing hysterically "Middle, First, it's all backwards with you. Hey could be worse, we could all be in a place where the genders are backwards. Isaac's writer friend told me that in some places boys are girls and girls are boys."

Olivia's laughter turned to crying "They're getting stuck and he can't unstick them. Places he writes are real, you know?"

Omar then pieced it together: Their backer was the writer only known in Egypt as Aaron, and his desire to not interact with others on their terms was in some way linked to Olivia as well. He (on instinct) held her, as if he wasn't in control of his own body:

"He will either unstick the convergences, or die trying. Isaac's writer friend told me to tell you that he's sorry that you can see what's going on better than most of the others, but you're a brave young lady and others like you...sorry, no...other yous are proud of who they are. They have a word for it, too...Asperger's. You're all going to be just fine."

Omar pulled away, not sure why he even hugged her in the first place. The entire circus was staring at them. 2 voices behind Omar (who sounded identical) whispered "No one has ever gotten Olivia to snap out of herself except Isaac, and Aaron taught him how to do it." Olivia then stared directly at Omar for the first time, and smiled simply.

"Olivia Mell is my name, Sheffield, England is my place of birth, not far away from where the David who breathes fire was born I think. Don't bother looking for it on your map, it isn't big enough. I'm the flipper on the trapeze, Mr. Isaac catches me. Been doing it since Aaron taught Isaac some codewords of me a year ago: 'Climb, mount trapeze, ready, steady, go, 1, 2, 3, triple flip, extend arms'. Then Mr. Isaac catches me with his hands, then he whispers 'nothing but net' and I let go. I go back into myself afterwards (before I even hit the net, actually). In fact, this is my first accidental time outside of myself...ever. I'm frightened and curious at once. Oh...uh...sorry, I'm going away from your questions."

Omar on some level knew that this was a huge breakthrough for her "No need to apologize. I was going to ask what you were looking forward to while you were in Cairo but I think you should just explore the people of your circus while you can. Just do it slowly, your type gets overstimulated?"

Olivia nodded and waved goodbye, silently knowing that she didn't have to speak anymore. Omar waved back, and got a standing ovation from every other person in the circus.

"That was a miracle." said Joe who walked over and shook Omar's hand.

"Hey, maybe we can finally get a group photo." said those 2 voices that Omar had heard behind him earlier. Omar had correctly surmised that they were his last interview, but that would make 17, not 16, right. Omar turned around and he was more confused instead of at ease.

"You're...conjoined twins?"

 _Song to put on: Power Tool – Two Heads Are Better Than One_

They both laughed, "Last time we looked. My name is Fabio, this is Lucas. Sorry to sneak up on you."

"It's OK. And yes I can take group photos if you like. I guess the how long have you been conjoined twins question is a bit rude."

"It is. Thank you for not asking it, but we have been with this circus for a few years. We're from Fermo, Italy. Not sure if you can find it on a map here but it's in the middle of the country and on the coast of the Adriatic sea."

"And what are you forward to the most while you're in Cairo?"

"Not being the subject of an Italian lynch mob just for being different." answered Fabio and Lucas simultaneously.

Omar chuckled slightly, recognizing a sense of irony based on a book he read once with one of these twins in it "So, in a detective novel you get your head cut off and here, you have 2 heads."

"Yes, Lucas prefers to be more anonymous so he's not in any of our friend's stories. Also, it was a copy of me that got his head cut off, technically." answered Fabio in a need to clarify.

"Supposedly, I don't exist on any other Aaronworld anyway. I'm think we're the original, assuming these stories are real on some level."

"Thank you for your time...both of you."

"Our pleasure." they both replied.

"انهم يريدون الصور، وكم فيلم لدينا؟ (They want photos, how much film do we have?)"

"4 صور (4 pictures)" replied Saddam.

"OK، ما لم نضع في ورقة، وسوف نقدم لهم. انهم ضيوف

(OK, what we don't put in the paper, we'll give to them. They're our guests)."

Saddam nodded and began preparing the camera. Joe noticed that and shouted "Everybody, could I have your attention, please? We're doing a group photo for the first time ever, can everyone meet 5 metres in front of this man's camera lens, please?"

 _Song to put on: Kid Rock feat. Sheryl Crow—Picture_

Everyone did as instructed and Omar stared at all of them, trying to figure out how to organize all of them together into 1 group photo, their first.

"Can I get all of the men in the back as you're taller?"

The men complied, The ladies didn't even need to crouch slightly to make the men behind them more visible.

"Has anyone here had their pictures taken before?" asked Joe.

Everyone shook their heads, especially Olivia.

"Just smile and these guys will take care of everything." assured Joe.

 _BANG!_

"That's just needed to put the image of all of you onto the paper. Don't be alarmed by it, us journalists need our tricks too I guess" assured Omar. 3 more bangs followed, taking a few minutes. Omar elected not to tell them that he was giving them the unused photos, wanting to keep it a surprise.

"OK, you're all done."

It was only a few minutes later when the tent came down (carefully, making sure not to land on anyone as there were fans still waiting outside who were being entertained by most of the circus itself), exposing a typical Cairo sunset. Omar, Saddam and Osama bowed to the entire circus (who returned the favour in kind). They packed away the camera into a large brown wooden box, which Saddam carried with them as all 3 of them mounted their camels. They waved goodbye and began heading south, towards Cairo. They even waved at a caravan of camels heading north towards the circus. As did Joe, who was expecting the leader of this caravan hours ago.

"And where were you, your honour?" he asked teasingly.

The honour to whom he was referring was Mahmoud Hassan, the current mayor of Cairo. Barely 21 years old, 1.79 metres tall, short/spiked brown hair ("built more like a midfielder in soccer" thought Joe to himself), yet he was so well composed you wouldn't think that he ran the largest city in Africa.

"Sorry Mr. Pauletich, but I do have over 350,000 bosses to answer to."

"It's OK. I trust you had a good reason, and in fact you had lots of reasons."

"I promise I'll make your second show. I'll have my deputy mayor run the city for a night. I'm also sorry that you had to perform outside of city limits but I'm afraid that I have no control over the ministry of culture's decisions."

"Mr. Hassan, we came here to start the changes of things, not to expect everything to change all at once."

Mahmoud smiled, "You are of course, welcome to stay in city limits if you like."

Joe nodded, seemingly very prepared "We got lodging this morning when we arrive, thank you."

Children and adults who had attended the circus were smiling and bowing in front of Mayor Hassan (who returned the favour even in mid-conversation). Joe could tell that Mayor Hassan was well-respected and representing a changing of the guard regarding the city's culture and how a city could function with more freedom.

"Will you be having an after-party later this evening?" asked the Mayor thoughtfully.

"We weren't sure if that was OK, so I made no plans to have one. We don't want to offend anyone while we're here, especially when it's our first time here." replied Joe.

Mayor Hassan shook his head, preparing to break down the rules for his guest: "It's perfectly legal provided that whoever is behind the bar exercises caution when serving alcohol to anyone and if anything in the building (including the building itself) looks at least 50 years old, damaging it in any way will lead to jail time. But my city's residents are very well behaved. In fact, we'd have the lowest crime rates in Africa, if it weren't for the grave robbers."

"Oh we won't even think about doing anything like that. I for one consider grave robbing highly disgraceful." assured Joe.

"Good. Anyways, these police officers, spare camels and wagons will be enough to take your circus and your things back to town, yes?"

Joe took a moment to assess what was behind the mayor in regards to storage space.

"Plenty, but our hotel doesn't have a basement or any facilities in which to store any equipment. Is there somewhere we can store our equipment. We'll pay if we have to"

Mayor Hassan clicked his tongue and shook his head at the same time "You most certainly will not. The police will guard it at the police station, free of charge. Just a precaution, as there are still some Egyptian nationalists who don't take kindly to any outsiders."

"Thank you." said Joe. The look that the 2 men shared was enough to not need any additional words. Mayor Hassan surveyed the local residents conversing with Joe's circus (as best they could, given the language barrier)

"Whereabouts are you staying?" asked the Mayor.

"The four seasons, the owner saw us get off the pier and insist that we stay for free. You, your city and its' people are very kind and generous." replied Joe in a tone that suggested shock over the generosity.

"He should, he's my cousin Abdul."

Before Joe could make a remark about small a world it was, the Mayor shouted "اهتمام الجميع، والحزب بعد هو في الفندق 4 مواسم في 1 ساعة. (Attention everyone, the after-party is at the Four Seasons hotel in 1 hour)."

The crowd of fans (Circus groupies, as Joe would call them) began cheering.

"What did you just say to them?" asked Joe.

"I announced the after-party in an hour." replied the mayor.

"We better get moving." replied Joe, slightly panicked.

"This is going to be new for most of us." exclaimed Miriam as she was changing into more casual attire for the evening. In point of fact, they all were changing clothes in the same caravan (as the 1 hour time frame didn't leave them time to change clothes somewhere else in order to ensure individual privacy). Everyone made sure not to look at each other as they changed, and as the last of them turned around (Olivia), they were happy to see each other. All of the tops were various shades of Blue, all of the pants were black.

"I would've been happy if we came here for just 1 show. But 2 shows and a party? What took us so long to come here?" asked Jeanie rhetorically, as everyone knew the answer already. David K. Carefully walked over to where Joe was, hoping to get a word with the ringmaster in private.

"Thanks for getting clean water, mate." the fire-breather whispered to the ringmaster.

"Oh, thank you for reminding me." replied Joe, who then shouted "CAN I GET EVERYONE'S ATTENTION, PLEASE?"

"No need to shout, we're all in 1 caravan." replied Isaac.

"Right. OK, Egypt's definition of clean water is...pretty loose. Only accept water that is served to you in clear glasses, pitchers or carafes. If the container holding the water isn't transparent, they're probably hiding dirty water and the nearest chemist is on the other side of the city from where we're staying."

"How do you know where the chemist's office is already? We haven't even been in town long enough to have a rehearsal before our first show." asked Tyrone.

"The owner who checked us in told me. I think he was trying to compensate due to a lack of keys available for us."

"Lack of keys?" asked Megan, a little worried.

"Only 4 rooms between all 17 of us." clarified Joe.

"We've had worse." offered James. The entire crew agreed.

"How's our books Isaac?" asked Joe.

Isaac was actually the first to finish changing his clothes as he knew that the question of profit would eventually be asked. In addition to running the trapeze, he was also the group's de facto accountant.

"We've already covered our travel expenses on the boat from Rome to here, and then some."

That announcement elicited cheers from the entire group, Joe included. Isaac continued: "And with our lodging and storing of goods being free, we might be able to have a little fun on our day off tomorrow."

The cheering regarding that good tiding was cut short by the view of the city that they only had for a single moment in time. They were atop a 40 metre tall sand hill, overlooking the entire city. The west end of the town were all factories, bellowing out the steam that was required for day to day operations in everything from laundromats to restaurants. The steam that came from the east end of the city came in much smaller volume, but as that was the residential side of the city, it was to be expected.

"A paradise in steam." whispered Rick.

"So that's why a city in the desert succeeds in having regular rainfall." replied Kate, also in whisper.

 _Song to put on: Scorpions – Big City Nights_

Night fell heavy in Cairo. Surprisingly, the streets were very quiet with traffic of any kind being minimal.

"Are you OK?" asked David F. While looking at Olivia.

"There may not be too many fun times left for any of us, but I'll be fine. To all of you, I'm sorry if anything I've done or said has hurt your feelings. There's just...so much going on inside of me. Everything in my mind is telling me that we're in big trouble that no one person can fix." said Olivia, while fighting back tears.

"No need to be sorry. We know that you've always been different. And the different are welcome in any reputable circus." said Laura, fighting the urge to touch Olivia's shoulder in an effort to comfort her.

"Are we almost there? We're starving." declared Fabio and Lucas.

"Twice the person, twice the stomach." answered Laurie, in a tone that made her jest obvious.

"Yes, they're serving roasted red pepper hummus with flatbreads where we're staying as a sort of late night snack. I think the main kitchen closes early for religious reasons." observed Gloria.

"There it is, guys. The Four Seasons." announced Megan.

It was the first hotel in Africa to be designed by people who weren't born on the continent. 17 floors of Neo-Gothic wonder, built with imported European cobblestone and assembled over a period of several years. Each floor had 10 rooms and 2 suites except for the main floor on the ground which was just a check-in desk (made from German Oak), a kitchen (which was also cobblestone and even had a steam oven), a night club (where our circus was heading) and 4 steam baths for the richer clientele. Abdul (the owner), was waiting out front and upon seeing his guests, grew a smile from ear to ear.

"Welcome back legends circus, how was your show this evening?"

Joe spoke on behalf of the group (as was tradition for a ringleader) "For no rehearsal, it was great. We love this town, don't we?"

The other 16 of the circus shouted "WOOOOOOOOO!" (a habit given to them by Tyrone), exclaiming their enthusiasm and agreement with their ringmaster.

"Will you be in our club this evening?" asked Abdul.

"For a while, yes. Your cousin announced it as our after-party. I must confess, that I was caught off guard that he did such a thing. Did he run this by you in advance?"

"He did, 3 nights ago. It's OK. How this works is that your fans will have to pay for drinks, but you guys don't. If a fan gets out of line, nod at one of my security, don't say a word, and we will take care of it."

"Permission to speak, Ringmaster?" asked Olivia. No one was prepared for her to ask, especially Joe.

"Granted." said Joe with a smile, happy that she seemed to be out of her shell.

"Thank you. Mister Abdul, I believe that our fans who followed us from the show stopped at their respective homes to change clothes and otherwise prepare."

"That is typically what happens, they'll be along soon enough. Come, come, enter the club, relax."

They entered via a service entrance located on the west end of the hotel (that was otherwise only used by Abdul). Their were cobblestone foundations while the tables, bar and dance floor were made from the same German Oak used at the front desk. Abdul then waved Joe to come aside as the other 16 took seats at various locations (but were still close enough to talk to each other even as the music came on through a record player and a strategically placed megaphone). And yes, there were already bowls of hummus and plates of flatbreads on every table.

 _Song to put on: Diablo Swing Orchestra – Balrog Boogie_

"These are your keys, Mr. Pauletich."

"Oh, thank you Abdul."

Joe and Abdul exchanged bows before Abdul left to give his guests some space.

It was over 5 hours that had gone by and the place was still packed with over 200 fans (although the avant-garde jazz playing on the old phonograph had its' volume reduced significantly on account of not much dancing taking place). Most had already gotten autographs (or chats with the circus if they had no paper or pencil that they brought at home), and in order to make themselves more accessible, the circus took it upon themselves to re-arrange the chairs so that they could all be sitting in a circle. Joe could tell that those in his circus who had ordered alcohol had now stopped as they feared the hangovers that were coming the next morning (or punishment if they got out of line).

"Barkeep, another 8 carafes of clean water if you please." announced Joe.

While they were waiting, Isaac decided to take a little initiative and summarize the minutes of what was basically a staff meeting.

"OK, so we're all in agreement. On our day off tomorrow, we're travelling by camel to Giza to see the pyramids."

They all nodded as little Egyptian boy walked over to Tyrone, with his arms firmly at his sides, ready to bow.

"Hi there, my name is Anil. I'm a full-fledged Magnusite. That's what your fans call themselves here in Egypt."

Tyrone smiled and made sure to maintain eye contact when bowing himself.

"Magunsites?"

He asked himself, and took a few moments to consider it.

"I like it, young sir. Go forth and spread the word that the Black Viking loves all of his...Magnusites."

"Rick, do you have the room chart ready for who's sleeping where tonight?" asked Joe

Rick took a piece of paper out of his shirt pocket and began unfolding it "I sure do. Room 1: David F, Isaac, Kate and Miriam. Room 2: David K, James, Laura and Olivia. Room 3: Fabio/Lucas, Jeanie, Laurie and myself. Room 4: Gloria, Joe, Megan and Tyrone."

"Are there any other issues to bring up?" asked Isaac.

"Poker. Are we playing any while we're in Egypt?" asked Kate.

"Well, there are no casinos in this country but we can play amongst ourselves. I still haven't lost the couple of decks of cards that we got in England."

Abdul had overheard this as he was quietly getting the customers who weren't in the circus out for the night and felt the need to interject something: "In accordance to Egyptian law, no game of chance can have more than 8 people playing at a time."

"OK, so the Normies play tomorrow night and the Freaks play the night after." suggested Laura.

"Great idea." said Laurie as she yawned.

Joe looked over to his left and noticed that Abdul had gotten out the last of the fans.

"I say we call it a night, all in favour?"

"AYE" exclaimed the rest of the crowd. They stood up and headed for their rooms: All on the second floor, all with 4 double beds with basic white pillows and linens and a sitting area. As everyone retired for the evening, they hoped that the shared bathroom on their floor was clean. They all had dirty washroom stories to tell for days.

Olivia and Gloria were having the same nightmare from different perspectives: It was the part in the Aarons and Erins mixed poker book where a few Aaron's and Erin's got hit by those inter-dimensional beings and started seeing the utter chaos in which they found themselves feeling. There was no raging inferno, no stink of brimstone, no seething masses of molten rock about which throngs of damned humanity screamed in eternal torment. This was something far less well defined, yet an agony a thousand times more exquisite than the worst pain any of them had ever felt. The horror of child abuse, rape, torture or the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust would have been a pleasant spring morning compared to...this.

What bombarded the senses of Gloria and Olivia wasn't totally incomprehensible. If it had been, they might have felt nothing at all, since their minds could not have grasped it. No, this was a barrage on all of the senses far worse than the loudest noises, most disgusting scents, brightest lights, most nauseating tastes, and most painful sensations rolled into one. Worse yet, was that whatever this was, was worse than the mixed poker book as this was happening in multiple places at once, affecting billions of lives (if not trillions). Even if they shut their eyes and plugged their ears inside their own nightmare, they couldn't stop the sensory barrage. Worst of all, everything about it was somehow familiar, despite the fact that it was so wildly distorted.

Glancing in the direction that they hoped was down, they saw weird, watery shadows that might have once been trees and buildings on each of their Aaronworlds (and at least 2 others). Only ones depicted through the brush of an artist well past the brink of insanity. The colours and shapes were things they knew they could have recognized under other circumstances. But they were now so terribly wrong it hurt, fresh watercolours caught in a violent storm bent on washing them from existence. The images becoming attenuated and eventually pulled into nothing under the onslaught of a destructive wind. Their minds took it all in but could not begin to make any true sense of it; they jittered closer and closer to the brink of hysteria because of that inability, as if their brains, like the worlds all around them, were being pulled apart thread by thread, slowly...converging.

Despite their combined state of confusion, which grew worse with each passing second, the instant that comparison flickered inside Olivia's mind, she suddenly understood what she had to do.

She woke up, and somehow didn't scream. For she knew that it would wake the others. Gloria did the same

This wasn't hell or some hideous surreality; it was the Aaronworlds they knew (and didn't know) rushing headlong to the brink of dissolution, collapsing in upon themselves like a black hole as time and space tore themselves in the final death throes brought on by some lethal convergence. But how could they stop it?

Chapter 2: Destiny on Camel back

 _Song to put on: Buckethead – Water Drops_

"Is the water hot enough for you 4? Need any more soap or shampoo? Could I open a botlle of brandy or a box of cigars?" asked the steam bath attendant, a short and silent young woman named Ara.

After an uneventful breakfast in the hotel's night club an hour prior, bathing was a rare treat for our circus. Being attended to WHILE bathing was a first for all of them, even for the last batch of 4 in the morning: Kate, Miriam, Megan and Tyrone.

"Oh no, thank you. I'm nearly finished." replied Kate as she rinsed out the last of the shampoo from her long, flowing red hair.

"No more for me, thank you." added Miriam as she was so happy to be able to use a bar of soap over all of her body parts for (what was probably) the first time in her life.

"I think that we're ready to dry off and leave, actually." observed Megan who had the most to clean, as she was the tallest of the girls.

"I'm done shaving my face and head. I was done any and all actual bathing 10 minutes ago. Towels please?" asked Tyrone.

Ara nodded and left the room briefly. The bathing room had the same cobblestone as the rest of the hotel, with 4 free standing wooden barrels (1 in each corner of the room) which had to be freshly filled and emptied with each use. There were only 2 doorways in the bathing room: 1 that lead back into the hotel's corridors and the other to a heating and storage room, where the staff could heat water for use and keep the soap, shampoo and other supplies in a secure manner (Hygiene thieves were an up and coming crime in Egypt). Ara returned and began placing the thicker towels on the floor. None of the bathing had ever seen them before, Ara laughed, having seen that look in customers eyes' before.

"These are called bathmats. You stand on them while you're drying yourself off so that you don't make the floor slippery."

The girls got out first, as Tyrone had to give the hotel's razor blade back to Ara so that he didn't slip out of the tub and cut his jugular artery by accident. When he got out, Ara dropped the towels in shock as she got a glimpse of...

"Allah be praised, the legends of the dark mjolnir are true." she whispered.

"Why can't I be one of the versions of me that Aaron writes about as writing erotica as a hobby?" asked Kate to herself. Megan and Miriam were the first to start regaining their composure, and Megan reached for the dropped towels, tossing 1 to each of her fellow circus crew before beginning to dry herself off with the last one. Tyrone (to his credit) was not in any way shy or bashful about it, he even decided to have some fun with it.

"Whosoever be worthy, ladies. Whosoever be worthy."

Tyrone then wrapped the towel around his waist and exited for the corridor (as their clothes were stored in a different room down the hall). The girls stayed behind to wrap their towels around their bodies.

"Well, that was an eyeful I must say." whispered Megan.

"Understatement of the year." replied Miriam.

"I would contort to any shape that he wanted for one good night with him." finished Kate as all 3 of them exited the bathing room.

10-15 minutes later, all 17 of them were gathered by the front desk. They were all wearing white shorts and short-sleeved white shirts for the occasion (in an effort to keep cooler in the hot Egyptian sun). Abdul silently handed out blue-painted wooden canteens filled with the clearest water that he could find to each of them.

"OK, everyone. Can I have your attention please?"

The crew were already focused on Ringmaster Joe, even before he asked that question.

"Each of us will have our own camel, thank you for everything Abdul."

Abdul nodded as he handed Joe a map. "Be careful with this please, it's my only one."

Joe nooded, understanding the value of paper goods all too well "Of course I will. Now, the pyramids are about 18 kilometres away. Between the trip there, the trip back and exploring, PLEASE space out the water consumption."

"Wait, we don't have a guide?" asked David F.

"No. We made decent money last night, but pyramid guides are too expensive. We do however, have several torches that I will hand out once we reach the pyramid." informed Isaac.

"From what I remember someone saying at the gathering of the circuses in Detroit, Ontario 2 years ago, it's almost entirely due west. Correct?" asked David K.

James shifted to his left side and looked at Joe's map "A few hills aside, yes."

"Which one of us gets to hold the canteen?" asked Fabio to Lucas. Abdul sighed and went into his private office behind the front desk.

"Are the pyramids open to the public like this?" asked Jeanie.

"Yes, but locals avoid them. Unless they're a guide or a grave robber, they're afraid of the supposed curses that the pharaohs left behind. What? I talked to people in the gathering, too." answered Laurie.

"We better get a move on. It's only going to get hotter as the day progresses." exclaimed Laura with her hand raised.

"Quite right, let's go." declared Joe.

Normally in the morning, Gloria would try approaching Olivia regarding their shared nightmares if she thought that Olivia was able to handle a conversation (but would mostly leave her alone). Today however, Olivia approached Gloria.

"Did it happen again for you last night?" Olivia whispered as they were in the back of the group, walking towards the rear of the hotel.

"Yes, the longest and most brutal yet." conceded Gloria, not wanting to remember it.

"2 hours, 11 minutes and 42 seconds." stated Olivia.

"What do you think it means?" asked Gloria, comforted that for once, Olivia could articulate to another person clearly.

"I think where Aaron-Prime went after he 'died' is in trouble. And I think that we're all in bigger trouble than most of us humans can understand. Maybe it's because of so many newcomers to what he called the 'Aaronverse' recently." offered Olivia.

"No. If that were true, Tyrone, Jeanie, Lucas and Miriam would be getting the nightmares too. I could see 1 of them keeping quiet, but not all 4 of them over something like this. If nothing else, they would come to me. Any maybe even come to you now." countered Gloria.

"It's so strange. Based purely on our own experiences, we've known everyone for months, if not years or even decades. But if Aaron's telling the truth, if there really are thousands of us on thousands of worlds that he's written, then we probably weren't in that hospital on Aaronworld-Prime until he 'died' (or at most, just before he died). And then how would he know about us unless he conjured us out of thin air after the fact?"

Gloria nodded at all of this as they mounted their camels and headed for the pyramids, saying nothing further.

 _Song to put on: Slayer – Seasons in the Abyss_

Giza: A plethora of monuments (mainly pyramids) paying tribute to one of the first civilizations in human history. Due to time constraints, however:

"The greater 2nd pyramid of Khufu is our main focus today, boys and girls." declared Joe "293 metres tall at the base and 5 known chambers."

"We forgot something." announced Miriam, sounding slightly stressed out.

"What?" asked David K.

"Do any of us actually know how to read hieroglyphics?" asked Miriam.

 _Song to put on: Buckethead – Hiero_

"Indeed. I don't know any ancient languages at all." replied Megan.

By this point, David F, Fabio/Lucas, Gloria, James and Olivia had silently raised their hands.

"Livy, you know how to read hieroglyphics?" asked Kate.

"Self-taught." replied Olivia while nodding.

The entire circus crew stared at her.

"What? I like reading. It's probably the safest way people like Aaron and I know how to leave our own minds." she answered with a shrug. Isaac walked back over to his camel and took a large red cloth bag off of the saddle. Seeing 6 sticks that had been carved to form bases for torches (with large pieces of flint sticking out of the top installed by hand), he removed 5 of them and a box of stick matches.

"Abdul gave us these at daybreak. Mr. Kay, as you're the experienced one with fire would you please be so kind as to light the torches once I'm finished passing them out?"

"Oh no problem."

 _Song to put on: Buckethead—Glyphics_

Once Isaac had handed them out and David K. Lit them:

"Can those who can read hieroglyphics stand in separate spaces from the rest of us, please?" asked Joe.

All 5 of the hieroglyphic readers obliged.

"Thank you. Everyone else, please pick our de facto guides so that each guide only has 2 or 3 people to worry about."

Tyrone, Laura and David K. Picked David F, Rick and Kate picked Fabio/Lucas, Miriam and Joe picked Gloria, Megan and Jeanie picked James while Laurie and Isaac made sure to stick with Olivia.

Joe looked at his map in detail before speaking again "OK. We enter through here (he pointed at the doorway directly in front of them), we walk about 20 steps uphill before we reach the first 2 passageways for 2 of the 5 groups (1 each on the right and left sides). Then we go up another 20 stairs until we reach 2 more passageways for the next 2 groups (Again, 1 each on the left and right sides). The last group will then go down about 15 steps on a new staircase until we reach what was the main chamber for Khufu the second. Any questions?"

Everyone shook their heads and headed inside. Most of the circus were happy that the stairs were approximately 2 metres wide (so no one felt cramped or claustrophobic). The steps were made from the same limestone as was used to make the pyramid itself (and based on the colour, was designed at pretty much the same time). Unlike most pyramids, there were no hieroglyphics along the walls of the staircase...

...at least, none that was supposed to be there. The hieroglyphic readers had to restrain themselves from bursting out in laughter over how many "(X) was here" comments were carved into the walls by pranksters that have since been dead for a few millennium.

 _Song to put on: Buckethead – Passageways 1_

It was Tyrone who held the torch for this group. David F. Took the front, Tyrone was second, David K. Was third and Laura was the anchor. For Tyrone, it was quite easy to hold the torch over everyone's heads as he was obviously the strongest. The challenge for him (and the 2 behind him) was to keep walking behind David F. (who was too busy reading the walls in order to walk with any particular speed). The anticipation of seeing this chamber was high.

"Hey Laura, do you believe that the curses in Egyptian folklore are real?" asked David K.

"I actually hope that they are. May teach some of this nation's grave robbers some manners." replied Laura.

"Don't worry guys, I got your backs. As long as we avoid touching things, we'll be alright." added Tyrone. Who then asked "Mr. Flannagan, have you figured out what kind of chamber we're headed for yet?"

"I have. We'll be entering the second servants chambers shortly. What I'm mostly reading is a list of what I'm guessing to be the names of the servants who are welcome to be buried in here. I guess Khufu II was worried that the wrong servants would be buried in the wrong rooms, as there are 2 rooms for them. We're probably going to be in one of the smallest chambers, if not the smallest."

Tyrone nodded, only whispering "At least this torch should provide enough light when we enter."

"We're here." declared Laura.

Tyrone was indeed right, as the one torch that they had was more than enough to light the second servants chamber. The same limestone to construct the rest of the pyramid was evident here as well, as were 10 sarcophagi: 8 of them were on the ground, lying horizontally in 2 rows of 4 with only 1 metre space between each one. The other 2 sarcophagi were actually vertical and resting on opposite diagonal sides of the room.

"Why do these 2 have more hieroglyphics written on their sarcophagi than the other 8?" asked Laura, who struggled to properly pronounce that last word.

"These 2 are guarding the other 8. The Egyptians believed that there were evil elements in the afterlife. Also, Egyptian imperial guards usually have their record of service while they were alive on their tombs whereas regular servants would just have their life stories and maybe a noteworthy act of service to their boss or 2." ranted David F.

"I'd like to put a motion to the floor that we don't open any of these sarcophagi at all." offered David K.

"Seconded. Even if the curses are superstition, it's disrespectful to the dead." replied Laura.

"Thirded, let them rest in peace." added Tyrone.

"Majority rules, looks like I don't even need to vote. Although..." said David F. As he walked away from the tombs and towards a nearby wall.

"Although what?" asked Laura with a tone of dread in her voice.

"This particular wall has slightly older hieroglyphics than the others." stated David F.

"How can you tell that?" asked David K.

David F. Pointed at the north wall of the room before answering "The colours of the hieroglyphics themselves are slightly more faded. I can't expertly date these but I would guess that this wall was written...at least a decade before the others, if not more. And from what I can read, Khufu II was not only alive when this wall was written but wrote the wall himself."

"That...doesn't sound normal for a pharaoh." stated Tyrone. "Can you read it out?"

"I'll try." answered David F. Who cleared his throat. "I was born in what the future will call the first half of the fourth dynasty."

"Damn, he knew how future generations would categorize his country's history?" asked Tyrone.

David F. Wasn't deterred in the least by that question. "Most had a vague idea. But...this second line states that he had dreams of his father, Khufu I, would die on his exact 10th birthday."

"Now how could he know that we would determine our calendar to be different from his?" asked Laura.

David F. Shrugged and was stunned at the same time "No idea. Line 3 is even weirder...In 4072 Ra cycles after I'm born...cycles of Earth around the Sun, I guess?...this world may be destroyed by the gods who gave me my dreams, the gods who taught us to write."

"What year was he born on our calendar?" asked David K.

"2556 BCE" replied David F.

"4072 cycles around the sun after that would be..." started Laura.

"...2016, this year." finished Tyrone...

...as David K. Stepped onto a portion of the floor...that started sinking.

"Oh shi..." screamed all of them.

 _Song to put on: Buckethead – Passageways 2_

It was Rick who held the torch for this group. Fabio/Lucas took the front, Rick was second and Kate was the anchor. For Rick, it was quite obvious to hold the torch over everyone's heads as he was obviously the tallest. The challenge for him (and Kate) was to keep walking behind Fabio/Lucas. (who was too busy reading the walls in order to walk with any particular speed). The anticipation of seeing this chamber was high.

"Mr. Ammuri and Mr. Ammuri, have you figured out what kind of chamber we're headed for yet?" asked Kate.

Lucas took the lead in answering the question "We have. We'll be entering the first servants chambers shortly. What we're mostly reading is a list of what I'm guessing to be the names of the servants who are welcome to be buried in here. I guess Khufu II was worried that the wrong servants would be buried in the wrong rooms, as there are 2 rooms for them. We're probably going to be in one of the smallest chambers, if not the smallest."

Rick nodded, only whispering "At least this torch should provide enough light when we enter."

"We're here." declared Fabio.

Rick was indeed right, as the one torch that they had was more than enough to light the second servants chamber. The same limestone to construct the rest of the pyramid was evident here, as were 10 sarcophagi: 8 of them were on the ground, lying horizontally in 2 rows of 4 with only 1 metre space between each one. The other 2 sarcophagi were actually vertical and resting on opposite diagonal sides of the room.

"Why do these 2 have more hieroglyphics written on their sarcophagi?" asked Kate, who struggled to properly pronounce that last word.

"These 2 are guarding the other 8. The Egyptians believed that there were evil elements in the afterlife. Also, Egyptian imperial guards usually have their record of service while they were alive on their tombs whereas regular servants would just have their life stories and maybe a noteworthy act of service to their boss or 2." answered Lucas.

"I'd like to put a motion to the floor that we don't open any of these sarcophagi at all." offered Rick.

"Seconded. Even if the curses are superstition, it's disrespectful to the dead. Let them rest in peace" replied Kate.

"Thirded." added Fabio.

"Majority rules, looks like I don't even need to vote. Although..." said Lucas as he walked away from the tombs and towards a nearby wall, dragging Fabio along with him.

"Although what?" asked Kate with a tone of dread in her voice.

"This particular wall has slightly older hieroglyphics than the others." stated Fabio and Lucas simultaneously.

"How can you tell that?" asked Rick.

Fabio took the lead in the ranting of exposition this time as he pointed at the south wall of the room. "The colours of the hieroglyphics themselves are slightly more faded. I can't expertly date these but I would guess that this wall was written...at least a decade before the others, if not more. And from what I can read, Khufu II was not only alive when this wall was written but wrote the wall himself."

"That...doesn't sound normal for a pharaoh." stated Rick. "Can you read it out?"

"I'll try." answered Lucas who cleared his throat. "I was born in what the future will call the first half of the fourth dynasty."

"Damn, he knew how history would categorize his country's history?" asked Rick.

Lucas wasn't deterred in the least by that question. "Most had a vague idea. But...this second line states that he had dreams of his father, Khufu I, would die on his exact 10th birthday."

"Now how could he know that we would determine our calendar to be different from his?" asked Kate.

Fabio shrugged and was stunned at the same time "No idea. Line 3 is even weirder...In 4072 Ra cycles after I'm born...cycles of Earth around the Sun, I guess?...this world may be destroyed by the gods who gave me my dreams, the gods who taught us to write."

"What year was he born on our calendar?" asked Rick.

"2556 BCE" replied Fabio.

"4072 cycles around the sun after that would be..." started Kate.

"...2016, this year." finished Lucas...

...as Rick stepped onto a portion of the floor...that started sinking.

"Oh shi..." screamed all of them.

 _Song to put on: Buckethead – Passageways 3_

It was Joe who held the torch for this group. Gloria took the front, Joe was second and Miriam was the anchor. For Joe, it was quite obvious to hold the torch over everyone's heads as he was the ringmaster (and the tallest). The challenge for him (and Miriam) was to keep walking behind Gloria (who was too busy reading the walls in order to walk with any particular speed). The anticipation of seeing this chamber was high.

"Miss Garbuio, have you figured out what kind of chamber we're headed for yet?" asked Miriam.

Gloria was quick to answer "Indeed I have. We'll be entering the pets chamber shortly. What we're mostly reading is a list of what I'm guessing to be the names of Khufu II's dogs, monkeys, baboon, crocodile...huh, the cats, falcons, scarab beetles and hawks are buried in here too."

"Was that rare back then?" asked Joe.

Gloria nodded, only whispering "Cats, falcons, beetles and hawks were actually more prized over other animals. They believed that cats watched over their children is just 1 example."

"We're here." declared Miriam.

The same limestone to construct the rest of the pyramid was evident here, as were 26 sarcophagi of various sizes (depending on the animal that was inside each one): 20 of them were on the ground, lying horizontally in 5 rows of 4 with only 1 metre space between each one. The other 6 sarcophagi were actually vertical and resting on diagonal sides of the room (save 2, who were between the corner tombs on the north and south ends of the chamber).

"Why do these 6 have more hieroglyphics written on their sarcophagi?" asked Miriam, who struggled to properly pronounce that last word.

"These 6 are guarding the other 20, and are obviously human and not just more pets. The Egyptians believed that there were evil elements in the afterlife. Also, Egyptian imperial guards usually have their record of service while they were alive on their tombs whereas pets would just have loving tributes from their owners. Odd that the pets would have so many guards, but each pharaoh was different" answered Gloria.

"I'd like to put a motion to the floor that we don't open any of these sarcophagi at all." offered Miriam.

"Seconded. Even if the curses are superstition, it's disrespectful to the dead. Let them rest in peace, even if they're animals." replied Joe.

"Majority rules, looks like I don't even need to vote. Although..." said Gloria as he walked away from the tombs and towards a nearby wall.

"Although what?" asked Kate with a tone of dread in her voice.

"This particular wall has slightly older hieroglyphics than the others." stated Gloria.

"How can you tell that?" asked Joe.

Gloria (again) was quick to answer as she pointed at the east wall of the room. "The colours of the hieroglyphics themselves are slightly more faded. I can't expertly date these but I would guess that this wall was written...at least a decade before the others, if not more. And from what I can read, Khufu II was not only alive when this wall was written but wrote the wall himself."

"That...doesn't sound normal for a pharaoh." stated Miriam. "Can you read it out?"

"I'll try." answered Gloria who cleared his throat. "When our gods come to us, they ask us to keep one detail off of our walls and permanent records that I am going to share with you now."

"Damn, sounds like these alleged gods were as genre savvy as some of the other world's Isaac's, if not more so" stated Joe, very impressed.

Gloria wasn't deterred in the least by that observation and kept reading. "This second line states that he is risking annihilation across many worlds for telling us this."

"Now how could he know that?" asked Miriam.

Gloria shrugged and was stunned at the same time "No idea. Line 3 is even weirder...they all share a common bond of, changing the colours of their eyes and discharging energy out of them?"

"Oh my god, does that mean that..." started Miriam.

"...the gods of Ancient Egypt could very well be the inter-dimensional beings Aaron Collins has been detailing in past stories" finished Gloria...

...as Joe tripped, knocking the lid of a sarcophagus of a cat...that started sinking.

"Oh shi..." screamed all of them.

 _Song to put on: Buckethead – Passageways 4_

It was Jeanie who held the torch for this group. James took the front, Jeanie was second and Megan was the anchor. For Jeanie, it was quite obvious to hold the torch over everyone's heads as she was the least clumsy. The challenge for her (and Megan) was to keep walking behind James (who was too busy reading the walls in order to walk with any particular speed). The anticipation of seeing this chamber was high.

"Mister Ford, have you figured out what kind of chamber we're headed for yet?" asked Miriam.

James was quick to answer "Indeed I have. We'll be entering the chamber of wives shortly. What we're mostly reading is a list of what I'm guessing to be the names of the women in Khufu II's life."

"Was polygamy commonplace in ancient Egypt?" asked Megan.

James nodded while answering "If you could afford it, it was a symbol of wealth and power back then."

"We're here." declared Jeanie.

The same limestone to construct the rest of the pyramid was evident here, save for a randomly placed grey stone in the middle of the room.

"What an odd place for a grey stone. Something tells me that this someone's idea of a joke." exclaimed James.

There were 5 sarcophagi: 3 of them were on the ground, lying separately in a triangular formation around the grey stone. The other 2 sarcophagi were actually vertical and resting on diagonal sides of the room.

"Why do these 2 have more hieroglyphics written on their sarcophagi?" asked Miriam, who struggled to properly pronounce that last word.

"These 2 are guarding the other 3. The Egyptians believed that there were evil elements in the afterlife. Also, Egyptian imperial guards usually have their record of service while they were alive on their tombs whereas wives would just have their role in the life of their shared husband displayed." answered James.

"I'd like to put a motion to the floor that we don't open any of these sarcophagi at all." offered Megan.

"Seconded. Even if the curses are superstition, it's disrespectful to the dead. Let them rest in peace." replied Jeanie.

"Majority rules, looks like I don't even need to vote. Although..." said James as he walked away from the tombs and towards a nearby wall.

"Although what?" asked Megan with a tone of dread in her voice.

"This particular wall has slightly older hieroglyphics than the others." stated James.

"How can you tell that?" asked Jeanie.

James (again) was quick to answer as he pointed at the west wall of the room. "The colours of the hieroglyphics themselves are slightly more faded. I can't expertly date these but I would guess that this wall was written...at least a decade before the others, if not more. And from what I can read, Khufu II was not only alive when this wall was written but wrote the wall himself."

"That...doesn't sound normal for a pharaoh." stated Megan. "Can you read it out?"

"I'll try." answered James who cleared his throat. "When our gods come to us, they ask us to keep one detail off of our walls and permanent records that I am going to share with you now."

"Damn, sounds like these alleged gods were as genre savvy as some of the other world's Isaac's, if not more so" stated Jeanie, very impressed.

James wasn't deterred in the least by that observation and kept reading. "This second line states that he is risking annihilation across many worlds for telling us this."

"Now how could he know that?" asked Megan.

James shrugged and was stunned at the same time "No idea. Line 3 is even weirder...that they will one day enlist the services of a human being on some world to help them destroy all of the worlds that they created when human beings get too smart and aware that they're not alone."

"Oh my god, does that mean that..." started Megan.

"...the nightmares that Gloria and Olivia have been having may very well be...prophecies of our future." finished James...

...as Jeanie tripped, knocking herself so that her right hand was top of the grey stone...that started sinking.

"Oh shi..." screamed all of them.

 _Song to put on: Buckethead – Passageways 5_

It was Laurie who held the torch for this group. Olivia took the front, Laurie was second and Isaac was the anchor. For Laurie, it was quite obvious to hold the torch over everyone's heads as she had the steadiest hands. The challenge for her (and Isaac) was to keep walking behind Olivia (who was too busy reading the walls in order to walk with any particular speed). The anticipation of seeing this chamber was high.

"Miss Mell, have you figured out what kind of chamber we're headed for yet?" asked Laurie.

Olivia was quick to answer "Indeed I have. We'll be entering the chamber of Khufu II himself shortly. What we're mostly reading is a biography of Khufu II's life."

"Was that commonplace in ancient Egypt?" asked Laurie.

Olivia nodded while answering "Most of what we know about each of the other pharaohs are because of the biographies that they leave behind on walls like this one."

"We're here." declared Isaac.

The same limestone to construct the rest of the pyramid was evident here. There were only 3 sarcophagi in this chamber: The sarcophagus presumed to be Khufu II was in the middle of the room while the other 2 sarcophagi were actually vertical and resting on diagonal sides of the room.

"Why do these 2 have less hieroglyphics written on their sarcophagi?" asked Laurie, who struggled to properly pronounce that last word.

"These 2 are guarding Khufu II. The Egyptians believed that there were evil elements in the afterlife. Also, Egyptian imperial guards usually have their record of service while they were alive on their tombs whereas Khufu II would have a prayer to the gods to accept him and all he brought with him." answered Olivia.

"I'd like to put a motion to the floor that we don't open any of these sarcophagi at all." offered Isaac.

"Seconded. Even if the curses are superstition, it's disrespectful to the dead. Let them rest in peace." replied Laurie.

"Majority rules, looks like I don't even need to vote. Although..." said Olivia as she walked away from the tombs and towards a nearby wall.

"Although what?" asked Laurie with a tone of dread in her voice.

"This particular wall has slightly older hieroglyphics than the others." stated James.

"How can you tell that?" asked Isaac.

Olivia (again) was quick to answer as she pointed to the north wall of the room. "The colours of the hieroglyphics themselves are slightly more faded. I can't expertly date these but I would guess that this wall was written...at least a decade before the others, if not more. And from what I can read, Khufu II was not only alive when this wall was written but wrote the wall himself."

"That...doesn't sound normal for a pharaoh." stated Laurie. "Can you read it out?"

"I'll try." answered Olivia who cleared her throat. "When our gods come to us, they ask us to keep one detail off of our walls and permanent records that i will share with you now."

"I think we're about to be fucked" stated Isaac, not very impressed (but very genre savvy).

Olivia wasn't deterred in the least by that observation and kept reading. "This second line states that if the fourth stone of each of my servants chambers is stepped on at the same time as knocking over the lid of the sarcophagus of my favourite cat, pushing down on my grey stone and finally..."

"Sounds like a strange coincidence" stated Laurie who started to feel tired and sat down on Khufu II's tomb.

Olivia shrugged and was stunned at the same time "Line 3 is even weirder...sitting down on my tomb will trigger a series of releases in every pyramid that will raise the pyramids that have yet to be unearthed in the sand."

"LAURIE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, STAND UP!" screamed Isaac.

But it was too late. The tomb of Khufu II started sinking.

"Oh shi..." screamed all of them.

 _Song to put on: Buckethead – Pyramids Rising_

All 17 members of the circus felt the pyramid shaking as they frantically ran out of their respective chambers, through the passageways and down the stairs (some of them internally thankful that the pyramid wasn't...taking off for another planet...yet).

David F. And Tyrone were the first 2 to reach outside. David F. Took the left side of the pyramid while Tyrone took the right. In tandem, they began grabbing their friends and pushing them outside to safety. Laurie was the last one out, and Joe resumed his leadership of his circus.

"Is everyone out?" he asked in desperation.

Isaac took it upon himself to do a head count quickly. "Yes sir. 17 went in, 17 came out."

"Is anyone injured?" asked Joe. 16 people shook their heads.

"I'm sorry." offered David K, Rick, Joe, Jeanie and Laurie in successive order.

"Guys, that was such an improbable combination of booby traps that no one could've predicted that they would ever be triggered simultaneously." offered James.

"LOOK!" screamed Olivia.

They all seemed to be ignoring that the ground around them was still shaking, but they couldn't ignore the 2 new pyramids coming out of the ground. Rising from the left and right sides of the main pyramid, they were each half the size of the pyramid that they just explored and each were an exact 100 metres away from the main one.

"I suppose it's rhetorical to ask if anyone wants to go exploring in those ones." mused Laura.

"I think it's best that we get the hell out of here." offered Fabio.

"Agreed." added Lucas.

"OK, but people know that we were here today. I think we need a cover story or else we could start an international incident and no circus from outside of Africa will ever be welcome back here again." stated Kate assertively.

"That's easy. We were the only ones here today, so we'll just say that we were half way back to the hotel when it started." offered Gloria.

"That's good. Now how do we extinguish these torches?" asked Miriam.

"Stick them into the sand, Abdul said that he would wash them for us." replied Megan.

Tyrone, Rick, Joe, Jeanie and Laurie had left their torches against the main pyramid wall, and were all too happy to extinguish the torches. Everyone assisted Isaac in packing up the saddle bag on his camel. Unsurprisingly, there was very little conversation on the journey home until just before they reached the hotel.

"So, whose turn is it to use the poker chips tonight? Freaks or Normies?" asked Joe.

"Normies. Us freaks had them on the boat coming to Cairo." replied Kate.

"Guys, finish your water. It's an insult to give food or drink back to your host." announced Isaac.

Those who still had water in their canteens began drinking as fast as they could, making sure to finish before they saw Abdul coming out of the hotel.

"Ah, my guests of honour. How were the pyramids?" asked Abdul.

"...Educational. We felt some tremors when we were halfway back to town but I don't think they were big enough to damage this fine city." answered Joe awkwardly. Feeling a need to deflect the conversation, he continued onto another topic. "Abdul, my crew and I are going to our rooms to rest as it was hotter than we expected. Can you handle the camels and supplies by yourself?"

"If I can't, I'll get my staff to help me. Go have a nap, I'm pleased you enjoyed our pyramids." announced Abdul, who effectively shooed them away.

"If only enjoyment was the right word." thought all 17 of the circus to themselves.

Chapter 3: Gambling like the Pharaohs, Part 1

Joe intensely stared at the case of poker chips, as the table and chairs had already been set up for the evening's game less than 1 hour earlier. There were 800 chips in 8 racks of 100 each inside this handmade oak case: 2 stacks each in White, Red and Green followed by 1 stack each of blue and black. Megan (being Joe's roommate and all) asked "Did Gloria and Tyrone hit the club downstairs tonight?"

Joe looked over at Megan and nodded "The freaks play a different game than us normies. Don't worry, we'll have enough for 1 table at least."

 _Knock Knock Knock, Joe! Knock Knock Knock, Joe! Knock Knock Knock, Joe!_

"That'll be Isaac, would you please get that Megan?" asked Joe.

"Certainly." replied Megan (who was already halfway to the door before being asked). She opened the door to find not only Isaac, but 2 others with him.

"Isaac, Miriam, Mr. Flannagan, come right on in."

"Thanks for running a game." replied Miriam.

"Need any help Joe?" asked Isaac.

"No thank you. I'm pretty much all set-up." replied Joe.

The door was kept open, leading Jeanie to offer a half-hearted knock as she was entering. Megan walked back to the door and closed it behind Jeanie to prevent strangers from being nosy.

"I guess that I make it a full table." she announced as she entered.

"Indeed you do." replied Joe.

"Will we be invoking the 7th player rule if James shows up?" asked David F.

"Yes, of course we will." replied Joe as he got out individual stacks of 100 for each player. The 7th player rule referred to when there were 7 players in a game where there were only 6 to a table allowed. The person 1 seat to the left of the big blind would sit out the hand and not be dealt any cards. As they were playing a draw-based poker game, this would help to prevent running out of cards in any given hand.

 _Knock Knock!_

"And that'll be James." announced Joe.

"Not just James." exclaimed a young woman's voice.

"Olivia?" asked Isaac as he opened the door to let them in (very confused). Sure enough, James had brought Olivia to the game.

"Well, this is a first." declared David F.

Olivia merely shrugged at the unique precedent that she was apparently setting "I think I'm ready. Sometimes, it just takes an Omar to unlock my mind. I don't know as to when it'll close again, but I'll enjoy it while it lasts." stated Olivia.

Joe smiled "Well we're happy to have you. Have you been OK in a room without Isaac?"

"Yes sir." she answered.

"Do you even know what we game we spread?" asked Megan.

"Much less how to play it?" added Jeanie.

"Of course." replied Olivia, who then cleared her throat before she continued speaking. "The poker game that the normies of our circus play is called Pot-Limit 5 card draw high. The game is typically played 6 people per table with a button moving around the table that establishes who the dealer is with 2 forced bets called 'blinds'. The person 1 seat to the left of the dealer is called the 'small blind' while the person 1 seat to the left of the small blind is called the 'big blind'. Each player is dealt 5 cards face down in front of them and players have the option to call, raise or fold their hands in sequence beginning with the person that is sitting to the left of the big blind. Then there is a draw phase where players that are still in the hand have a choice to exchange any cards that they don't need. Oh, will there be a cap as to many cards we can trade? I've overheard people say that sometimes there is a cap."

Joe thought about it for a moment before answering: "If there are a lot of people still in the hand, then yes. But that is a rarity from all of the games that we've played. If you need to exchange more than 3 cards, you should've folded before the draw phase anyway."

Olivia smiled "Thank you for that clarification, and free strategy."

"That's the only one you get." replied Joe, dead serious.

Olivia nodded in silent understanding and continued "We also have the option of 'standing pat' which means not draw any cards at all. Another round of betting ensues, followed if needed by a showdown where the best 5-card high hand wins the pot. I've been having trouble understanding the concept of pot-sized betting and raising. Sorry James, but you explained everything else so well today."

Isaac stepped in, having remembered that someone in his friend's mixed poker book had this issue as well. "You can only bet or raise a maximum of what the pot is at any given time, if there hasn't been an established bet put in place. However, in a game involving blinds, you must also factor in the act of calling BEFORE the raise itself. Therefore, should 1 choose to declare 'raise pot' right now it would consist of the actions of a) calling the big blind of 2 (which makes the total pot 5 as of that moment) followed by raising the pot of 5 to 10."

Olivia nodded "OK, I think I got it. How much does it cost to play?" she asked.

"30 Egyptian pounds, we always play with the currency of where we're performing. We also play freeze-out rules so when you're eliminated, you can't buy back in. I did give everyone their take of the profits from the show, right?"

Everyone nodded as they threw Egyptian pound notes onto the table. Joe collected and counted all of it.

"1st place pays 180, 2nd place pays 60. 1st eliminated has to wake up early tomorrow and set up the practice tent tomorrow morning by themselves." he announced.

Miriam had returned from her own room (having vanished without anyone noticing her) with a table out of her room. Everyone merely stared at her.

"There's 8 of us playing. With this table we can play with 2 tables of 4 people per table and merge into a final table of 6 after the first 2 are eliminated."

"Great thinking, Miriam." declared Joe as he handed out the stacks of chips to everyone.

"How do we decide seating arrangements?" asked Olivia.

"I'll give everyone 1 card face up. Highest card gets Table 1, seat 1. 2nd highest gets Table 2, seat 1. Once seating is determined, I'll get the 2nd deck of cards out for the second table and each table can then deal out 1 card face up with the highest card getting the dealer button first." answered Joe, who sounded like he had hoping for an 8 player game for a very long time. He began handing out cards after a few shuffles of the deck: Megan got the King of Spades, Miriam got the 4 of Spades, Olivia got the 2 of Hearts, David F. Got the 3 of diamonds, Isaac got the 10 of Diamonds, James got the 4 of Hearts, Jeanie got the 4 of Clubs and Joe took the 2 of Spades. The table and seating were arranged as follows:

Table 1 (From seat 1 to seat 4): Megan, Miriam, Jeanie, Joe

Table 2 (From seat 1 to seat 4): Isaac, James, David F, Olivia

Joe handed Isaac a second deck of cards for table 2, then handed the original deck to Megan as both she and Isaac were seat 1 of their respective tables.

"Make sure to shuffle your deck very thoroughly Isaac, and count for 52 cards as well as it's been a while since I've used the deck."

While Megan splashed the deck (spread all 52 cards out face-down in random places on the table), Isaac shuffled 3 times and counted, all the way to 52.

"Full deck, Joe."

Joe nodded in satisfaction "OK. As we pick cards from the splash, you deal 1 card face up to everyone ending with yourself. High card gets the dealer button, Aces go high."

For Table 1, Miriam pulled the Ace of Spades (which made the other 3 puling cards a moot point). While at Table 2, Isaac dealt James the 3 of Clubs, David F. The King of Spades, Olivia the 9 of Hearts and himself the Jack of Diamonds.

"Woo-hoo!" exclaimed David F. Upon realizing that he had just won the button.

Level 1, Table 1 = 1-2 blinds, All stacks even.

Hand #1 began with Megan quietly calling the Big Blind from under the gun with the Jack/10/9/5 of Hearts and the 2 of Diamonds, Miriam announcing "I call." from the Button with the Queen/8 of Diamonds, 7/2 of Clubs and 8 of Spades, Jeanie quietly calling from the Small Blind with the King/Jack of Diamonds, King of Hearts, 10 of Clubs and 3 of Spades and Joe whispering "Check" from the Big Blind with the King/9/5 of Clubs, 9 of Diamonds and the 8 of Hearts.

"Oh sweet, A community pot (What one calls a hand in poker when no one folded during the first round of betting). Jeanie, you have the first draw." announced Megan.

"3 cards, please." whispered Jeanie. She placed her Jack/10/3 face-down on the table (making the first discard pile of the game), taking a 5 of Spades and both of the red 6's in exchange.

"3 cards for me as well." stated Joe. He placed his King/8/5 into the discard pile and received a 3 of Diamonds, Ace of Hearts and 9 of Spades in exchange.

"My turn, OK. I'll just take 1 card." whispered Megan. She placed the 2 into the discard pile, taking a Queen of Clubs in exchange.

"And finally, 3 cards for me, please." Miriam exclaimed. She placed her Queen/7/2 face-down in the discard pile and took an Ace/5 of Diamonds and Jack of Spades in exchange.

"Your option, Jeanie." Miriam stated.

Jeanie went into the tank, thinking:

" _I think Megan made the flush. I'll check in front of her. If she bets with any kind of enthusiasm at all, I'm out even though I have 2 pairs."_

"Check." mumbled Jeanie.

"Check." announced Joe.

"Check." declared Megan.

"Check, time to show your cards." added Miriam with a sense of dejection.

"2 Pair, Kings and 6's." showed Jeanie.

"Beats my pair of 9's." declared Joe as he mucked his hand face-down.

"I missed the flush." announced Megan as she toosed her hand into the muck.

"And it beats my pair of 8's with Ace-high, take it Jeanie." showed Miriam, knowing that the kicker card broke ties sometimes. Jeanie merely shrugged as she took in her pot of 8.

"Kind of an anticlimactic first hand." announced Miriam.

"Pretty much any first hand would seem that way after we accidentally triggered a booby trap big enough to raise 2 pyramids out of the ground." countered Megan.

"Once we're out of Cairo, we take what happened today to our graves." declared Joe.

"Agreed." remarked the entire tournament field, including the 4 at the other table.

Hand #2 began with Miriam announcing "Raise Pot" from under the gun with the King/8/3 of Clubs and the Jack/3 of Spades, Jeanie quietly folding from the Button with the 7/2 of Clubs, King of Spades, Jack of Diamonds and 8 of Hearts, Joe quietly calling from the Small Blind with the Queen/7 of Hearts, 8/2 of Spades and the Queen of Clubs and Megan whispering "I'm out" from the Big Blind with the Ace/Queen/8 of Diamonds, 10 of Spades and the 5 of Clubs.

"Joe, you have the first draw." announced Megan.

"3 cards, please." he exclaimed. He placed his 8/7/2 face-down on the table (making the discard pile) and took an Ace/6 of Spades and 2 of Diamonds in exchange.

"3 cards for me, please." whispered Miriam. She placed her King/Jack/8 face-down in the discard pile, taking a 5 of Diamonds and both of the red Kings in exchange.

"Your option, Joe." she added.

Joe went into the tank, thinking:

" _Not worth a bluff this early. I'll wait until the blinds are bigger"_

"Check." declared Joe.

It was now Miriam's turn to enter the tank, thinking:

" _I smell a trap, did ringmaster Joe draw a three of a kind? I deny him his check-raise pot."_

"Check, time to show your cards." stated Miriam.

"If you can beat my pair of Queens, It's all yours." declared Joe as he showed his cards.

"2 Pair, Kings and 3's. I guess I didn't need the extra King that I buried in the discard pile after all." announced Miriam as she took in her pot of 16.

"Nice hand." declared Megan.

"Thank you." replied Miriam.

"Jeanie, would you mind checking the other table please?" asked Joe.

Jeanie looked to her right and said "No early eliminations or anything of note over there."

Hand #3 began with Jeanie announcing "Raise Pot" from under the gun with the 7/10/6 of Spades, Queen of Clubs and the 6 of Hearts, Joe quietly folding from the Button with the 9/8/4 of Diamonds, Jack of Clubs, and the 2 of Hearts, Megan quietly folding from the Small Blind with the Ace/6/5 of Clubs, King of Spades and the Jack of Hearts and Miriam whispering "Screw it, I'll defend" from the Big Blind with the King/3/2 of Diamonds and the 8/3 of Spades.

"Miriam, you have the first draw." announced Megan.

"3 cards, please." she exclaimed. She placed her King/8/2 face-down on the table (making the discard pile) and took a Jack of Spades, 7 of Diamonds and 5 of Hearts in exchange.

"3 cards for me as well, please." whispered Jeanie. She placed her Queen/10/2 face-down in the discard pile, taking a 7 of Hearts, 5 of Diamonds and the 2 of Clubs in exchange.

"Your option, Miriam." Joe stated.

Miriam went into the tank, thinking:

" _Jeanie's a bluff catcher, I'll check fully aware that I'm letting her keep the lead in the betting."_

"Check." declared Miriam.

"Check, time to show our cards." stated Jeanie.

"Pair of threes, you've probably got it." declared Miriam as she showed her cards.

"Pair of 6's. Wow! I won the hand with that crap and I didn't even have to bluff." announced Jeanie as she took in her pot of 15.

"Something tells me that the pyramids and the nightmares of Gloria/Olivia are having are connected to our dear friend Mr. Commentator in more ways than we know...commentator? Why did I just call Aaron the commentator? Must be what at least one of the other me's in the Aaronverse call Aaron." thought Joe out loud.

"I agree with you." shouted Olivia.

"So I'm not the only one who thinks all of the worlds he's written, and other worlds altogether are in serious trouble?" asked Miriam.

"No, and I think It'll get a lot worse before it gets any better." stated Isaac.

"IF it gets better." replied David F.

Hand #4 began with Joe quietly folding from under the gun with the 3/2 of Spades, 10/9 of Clubs and the 3/2 of Spades, Megan announcing "Raise Pot" from the Button with the 9/8/6 of Hearts, 7 of Diamonds, and the 2 of Clubs, Miriam quietly calling from the Small Blind with the King of Clubs, Queen/3 of Diamonds and the 7/3 of Hearts and Jeanie quietly calling from the Big Blind with the Jack/5 of Diamonds, 5 of Hearts and the Jack/6 of Spades.

"Miriam, you have the first draw." announced Megan.

"3 cards, please." she exclaimed. She placed her King/Queen/7 face-down on the table (making the discard pile) and took a 10 of Diamonds, 7 of Spades and 4 of Hearts in exchange.

"1 card for me, please." whispered Jeanie. She placed her 6 face-down in the discard pile, taking a Queen of Clubs in exchange.

"1 card for me as well, please." stated Megan. She placed her 2 face-down in the discard pile, taking a 9 of Spades in exchange.

"Your option, Miriam." Joe stated.

Miriam went into the tank, thinking:

" _2 random hands behind me and my hand sucks. My check equals my surrender."_

"Check." declared Miriam.

"I bet the pot." stated Jeanie, shoving some chips into the pot with authority.

Megan went into the tank, thinking:

" _I can bluff-raise the clown."_

"I raise the pot." said Megan as calmly shoved almost every chip that she had into the pot.

"OK. I was out even before Megan pot-committed herself." exclaimed Miriam as she mucked her pair of 3's. Jeanie however, was unimpressed.

"All-in." she stated.

As Megan only had a couple of chips left, folding was pointless.

"I call."

"2 pair, Jacks and 5's." declared Jeanie as she turned her hand face up.

"Pair of 9's, my busted straight means I have to set up the practice tent all by myself. Good game everyone." declared Megan as she showed her cards.

"Glad I folded, I would've been second eliminated. I wouldn't have to set up the tent but you would already have your final table and I'm not a part of it." whispered Miriam.

"And we have our first elimination." announced Joe.

Megan shook hands with everyone at her own table, even hugging Jeanie despite being taken out by her. She then moved over to table 2.

"Have a great night Isaac, James, David and Olivia."

"You too." replied Issac.

"Good night, Megan." added James and David F.

"Wow, I'm not 1st out in my first game." mused Olivia.

"Where are you going, Megan? This is your room." asked Joe.

"I'm going to see if I can take a late-night steam bath, it was really hot outside today. I know 2 baths in one day is unusual but I like being clean."

"OK, be careful." answered Joe as she walked out the door.

"Are we going to go down to 1 table now?" asked Olivia.

"No, let's keep it 2 tables until 1 more elimination." replied Joe.

Stacks for Table 1: Jeanie 216 – Miriam 93 – Joe 91

Level 2, Table 2 = 2-4 blinds. Stacks for Table 2: Isaac 113 – James 97 – Olivia 96 – David F. 94

Hand #1 began with James quietly folding from under the gun with the King/5 of Spades, 10/2 of Hearts and the 6 of Clubs, David F. Announcing "Raise Pot" from the Button with the Queen/5 of Hearts, 10 of Spades, Ace of Clubs and the 2 of Diamonds, Olivia whispering "I fold" from the Small Blind with the Queen of Diamonds, the 10/7/4 of Hearts and the 3 of Spades and Isaac quietly folding from the Big Blind with the 10/6/5 of Diamonds and the Jack/9 of Spades. David raked in his pot of 20, somewhat confused.

"My Ace-High was a bluff to steal the blinds." announced David F.

"Still beat me." lamented James.

"And me." added Isaac and Olivia simultaneously.

Hand #2 began with David F. Announcing "Raise Pot" from under the gun with the 10/7/4 of Diamonds and the 10/7 of Spades, Olivia quietly folding from the Button with the Queen/5/3 of Hearts, King of Diamonds and the Jack of Clubs, Isaac quietly calling from the Small Blind with the Jack/8/6/4 of Spades and the 8 of Diamonds and James quietly folding from the Big Blind with the King/Queen/7 of Clubs, the Jack of Hearts and the 6 of Diamonds.

"I believe that It's your first draw, Isaac." stated Olivia.

Isaac went into the tank, thinking:

" _I have little chance at the flush, too many Hearts were dealt to the others. I'll keep my pair as It's a guarantee."_

"3 cards for me, please." announced Isaac as he pitched the Jack/6/4 (making the discard pile) and getting the 5 of Clubs as well as both of the Black 9's in exchange.

"1 card for me, please." replied David as he pitched the 4 and got the Queen of Diamonds in exchange.

"I believe that it's your option, Isaac." whispered Olivia,

"Check." said Isaac, hoping to get a bluff.

"Check." answered David, knowing how...intuitive that Isaac was.

"Time to show your cards, gentlemen." said Olivia with a smile.

"2 pair, 9's and 8's." said Isaac stoically as he turned his hand face up.

"No good, I have 10's and 7's." replied David F.

"So the higher pair breaks the tie? Interesting." mused Olivia as David took his pot of 32.

Hand #3 began with Olivia announcing "I fold" from under the gun with the Queen/4 of Spades, Jack/6 of Clubs and the 10 of Hearts, Isaac announcing "Raise Pot" from the Button with the Ace/8 of Clubs, 8/6 of Diamonds and the 8 of Spades, James quietly calling from the Small Blind with the Ace of Diamonds, Ace of Spades, Queen/7 of Clubs and the 2 of Hearts and David quietly folding from the Big Blind with the Ace of Hearts, the Queen/7 of Diamonds, King of Clubs and the 2 of Spades.

"I believe that It's your first draw, James." stated Olivia.

"3 cards, please." announced James as he pitched the Queen/7/2 (making the discard pile) and getting the Jack/7 of Hearts as well as the 5 of Diamonds in exchange.

"2 cards for me, please." replied Isaac as he pitched the Ace/6 into the discard pile and got the 8 of Hearts and 6 of Spades in exchange.

"Your betting option, James." announced Olivia.

"I bet the pot." said James, semi-bluffing.

"Call." answered Isaac, knowing that not only was his 4 of a kind good but that he mathematically crippled the deck. His best bet was to check and hope that someone would be stupid enough to bluff.

"Time to show your cards, gentlemen." said Olivia with a smile.

"Pair of Aces." said James as he turned his hand face up.

"No good, I have Quad 8's." replied Isaac.

"Quad?" asked Olivia, before answering "Oh right, 4 of a kind."

"Best hand of the night." said David as Isaac raked in his pot of 64. Joe stood up and clapped, with the others following suit

Hand #4 began with Isaac announcing "I raise the pot" from under the gun with the Ace/Jack of Diamonds, 9/7 of Clubs and the 7 of Hearts, James announcing "I call" from the Button with the 10/2 of Diamonds, Ace of Spades, 5 of Clubs and the 2 of Spades, David quietly calling from the Small Blind with the Queen/Jack of Hearts, Queen/3 of Clubs and the 9 of Diamonds and Olivia enthusiastically folding from the Big Blind with the Ace of Hearts, the King/3 of Spades and the 10/4 of Clubs.

"I believe that It's your first draw, David." stated Olivia.

"Quite right Olivia. 3 cards, please." announced David as he pitched the Jack/9/3 (making the discard pile) and getting the 10/2 of Spades as well as the Queen of Diamonds in exchange.

"3 cards for me, please." replied Isaac as he pitched the Ace/Jack/9 into the discard pile and got the 3 of Hearts and 4/5 of Diamonds in exchange.

"And 3 cards for me, please." added James as he pitched the Ace/10/5 into the discard pile and got the 7/3 of Diamonds and the King of Clubs in exchange.

"Your betting option, David." whispered Olivia.

"I bet the pot." said David, reasonably certain that his three Queens were enough to win the hand.

"Call." answered James, prompting David to do some quick math inside the pot and take back a refund of 13 chips as James was short-stocked from the last hand against Isaac.

"I'm out." declared Isaac, not needing to be genre savvy to know when he was beat.

"Time to show your cards, gentlemen." said Olivia with a smile.

"Three Queens." said David as he turned his hand face up.

"And I'm the 2nd eliminated, Great hand David." replied James as he mucked his hand face down, stood up and shook his hand. David was gentlemanly enough to return the handshake as he raked in his winnings, a pot of 125.

"Have a good night, James." said Isaac.

"Bye-bye James." replied Olivia as she waved.

"I'm going back to my room, goodnight other table." declared James.

"Night James." answered Joe

"Goodnight." replied Miriam and Jeanie simultaneously.

Play stopped as James exited the room. Once the tables were pushed together and everyone had their chip stacks in their hands, Joe announced "OK everyone, welcome to the final table. In the name of shaking things up, we will now have a re-draw for seating at the final table. I'll deal everyone 1 card face up. Highest card gets seat 1 (and the button), 2nd highest gets seat 2 (and the small blind), 3rd highest gets seat 3 (and the big blind) and so on...here we go."

Isaac got the Queen of Hearts, David got the 5 of Clubs, Olivia got the 4 of Clubs, Miriam got the 6 of Hearts, Jeanie got the Queen of Clubs and Joe got the 10 of Diamonds. The Final Table seating and chip stacks were as follows:

Seat 1: Isaac – 131

Seat 2: Jeanie – 212

Seat 3: Joe – 91

Seat 4: Miriam – 97

Seat 5: David – 179

Seat 6: Olivia – 90

Level 3, Final Table = 3-6 Blinds

Hand #1 began with Miriam whispering "Call" from under the gun with the Jack/10/7/4 of Spades and the 5 of Clubs, David quietly calling with the Queen/2 of Clubs, 4/2 of Hearts and the Queen of Spades, Olivia saying "I Call." from the cutoff (1 seat to the right from the dealer button) with the King/10 of Diamonds, 10/3 of Clubs and the 2 of Spades, Isaac quietly calling from the Button with Queen/9 of Hearts, King of Spades, Jack of Clubs and the 9 of Diamonds, Jeanie sighing before saying "No family pots on my watch, I fold." in the Small Blind with the Jack/10 of Hearts, 9/3 of Spades and the 2 of Diamonds and Joe knocking on the table three times, quietly indicating a check from the Big Blind with the Ace/8 of Spades, 6 of Hearts, 6 of Clubs and the 5 of Diamonds.

"You're the first draw, ringmaster Joe." stated Olivia.

"Thank you Olivia. 3 cards, please." announced Joe as he made a discard pile with the Ace/8/5 and received the Queen of Diamonds, 8 of Clubs and the 8 of Hearts in exchange.

"1 card for me, please." whispered Miriam as she pitched the 5 into the discard pile and received a 7 of Diamonds in exchange.

"1 card for me as well, please." said David as he pitched the 4 into the discard pile and received a 6 of Diamonds.

"3 cards, please." asked Olivia as she pitched the King/3/2 into the discard pile and received the King/7 of Hearts and the Ace of Diamonds in exchange.

Isaac went into the tank, thinking:

" _If my straight draw were open-ended I could justify breaking a pair, but better to play it safe."_

"3 cards for me, please." he stated as he pitched the King/Queen/Jack into the discard pile and received the 8 of Diamonds, 5 of Hearts and the 5 of Spades in exchange.

"And the ringmaster takes 3 cards." announced Joe as he pitched the Ace/8/5 and received the Queen of Diamonds, 8 of Clubs and the 8 of Hearts in exchange.

"Your option, Joe." whispered Olivia.

"I check." stated Joe, unsure as to whether his 2 medium pairs was good enough to win the hand.

"Check." replied Miriam, knowing that she was dead in the water with her busted flush draw.

"Check." said David, hoping that someone behind him would bluff.

"Check." whispered Olivia, thinking her Tens were no good.

"I check." responded Isaac, knowing that his 2 pair against 4 random hands was a long shot to win, at best.

"Time to show your cards, everyone." stated Olivia.

"2 pair, 8's and 6's." announced Joe as he turned his hand face up.

"Beats me." replied Miriam as she threw her hand into the muck face down.

"I have 2 pair as well, but mine are Queens and Deuces." stated David as he showed his cards.

"You're good." whispered Olivia as she threw her cards into the muck.

"Take it." replied Isaac as he tossed his 9's and 5's into the muck. David nodded as he raked in his pot of 30.

"I thought at least 1 of us would have had at least trips." offered Isaac.

"Trips?" asked Olivia in confusion.

"It's short for the word triple, it means 3 of a kind." answered David.

"Glad I folded." whispered Jeanie.

"I'm glad that we didn't need too many more cards." stated Miriam.

"I was worried about running out of cards, too." replied Joe.

Hand #2 began with David whispering "I'll sit this one out" from under the gun with the 8/2 of Hearts, King/Queen of Diamonds and the 6 of Clubs, Olivia quietly calling with the Ace/Queen/8 of Clubs, Ace of Spades and the 6 of Diamonds, Isaac saying "I Call" from the cutoff with the 5/3 of Diamonds, 4/2 of Clubs and the 4 of Hearts, Jeanie quietly folding from the Button with Queen/8/2 of Spades, Jack of Diamonds and the 5 of Clubs, Joe saying "I fold." in the Small Blind with the Ace/3 of Hearts, 10 of Clubs, 5 of Spades and the 4 of Diamonds and Miriam whispering "I Check." from the Big Blind with the King/9 of Clubs, 10 of Diamonds, 6 of Spades and the 6 of Hearts.

"You're the first draw, Miriam." stated Olivia.

"3 cards, please." whispered Miriam as she pitched the King/10/9 into the discard pile and received a Jack/4 of Spades and the 7 of Hearts in exchange.

"3 cards, please." asked Olivia as she pitched the Queen/8/6 into the discard pile and received the King/Jack of Hearts and the 7 of Clubs in exchange.

Isaac went into the tank, thinking:

" _This straight draw IS open-ended and I still can't justify breaking a pair."_

"3 cards for me, please." he stated as he pitched the 5/3/2 into the discard pile and received the King/7 of Spades and the Ace of Diamonds in exchange.

"Your option, Miriam." whispered Olivia.

"Check." replied Miriam, knowing that she was beat with her pair of 6's.

"Check." whispered Olivia, thinking her Aces were no good.

"I check." responded Isaac, knowing that he was right to not go for the straight, but still didn't improve his hand at all.

"Time to show your cards, everyone." stated Olivia.

"Just a pair of 6's." replied Miriam as she turned up her cards.

"No good, I have Aces." whispered Olivia as she showed her cards.

"Take it." replied Isaac as he tossed his pair of 4's into the muck. Olivia nodded as he raked in her pot of 21.

"Huh, I actually won 1" stated Olivia in delight.

"You're doing just fine." said Joe with an approving nod.

Hand #3 began with Olivia whispering "I'll raise the pot!" from under the gun with the 7/6 of Hearts, 8 of Clubs, the 6 of Spades and the 5 of Diamonds, Isaac quietly folding the King/8 of Spades, 10/9 of Clubs and the 4 of Diamonds, Jeanie saying "I Call" from the cutoff with the Ace/Jack of Diamonds, King/10 of Hearts and the 10 of Spades, Joe quietly calling from the Button with Jack/2 of Hearts, 8/2 of Diamonds and the Queen of Spades, Miriam saying "I call." in the Small Blind with the Jack/5 of Spades, Queen of Hearts, Queen of Clubs and the 6 of Diamonds and David whispering "I Fold, have fun guys." from the Big Blind with the Jack of Clubs, King of Diamonds, 9/7 of Spades and the Ace of Hearts.

"You're the first draw, Miriam." stated Olivia.

"3 cards, please." whispered Miriam as she pitched the Jack/6/5 into the discard pile and received a 9/7 of Diamonds and the King of Clubs in exchange.

"1 card for me, please." asked Olivia as she pitched the 6 of Hearts into the discard pile and received the 4 of Spades in exchange (making her straight).

Jeanie went into the tank, thinking:

" _This straight draw isn't open-ended, won't justify breaking a pair."_

"3 cards for me, please." she stated as she pitched the Ace/King/Jack into the discard pile and received the 6 of Clubs, 5 of Hearts and the 2 of Spades in exchange.

"3 cards for me, please" whispered Joe who pitched the Queen/Jack/8 and received the Ace of Clubs, 10 of Diamonds and the 3 of Hearts in exchange.

"Your option, Miriam." whispered Olivia.

"Check." replied Miriam, knowing that she was probably beat with her pair of Queens.

"Check." whispered Olivia, hoping to set a trap with her straight.

"I check." responded Jeanie, knowing that her hand actually lost value in the draw.

"Check." said Joe with a sigh, knowing that he couldn't bluff three people off the hand.

"Time to show your cards, everyone." stated Olivia.

"Just a pair of Queens." replied Miriam as she turned up her cards.

"No good, I have a straight." whispered Olivia as she showed her cards.

"That's good." replied Jeanie as she tossed her pair of 10's into the muck.

"Take it." replied Joe as he tossed his pair of 2's into the muck. Olivia nodded as she raked in her pot of 90.

"2 in a row!" stated Olivia in delight.

"Are you sure this is your first time playing?" asked Jeanie in a way that Olivia knew that she was teasing.

Hand #4 began with Isaac announcing "I'll fold" from under the gun with the King/10/2 of Spades and the 8/7 of Clubs, Jeanie quietly calling with the King/2 of Diamonds, 6/2 of Clubs and the 5 of Spades, Joe saying "I Call" from the cutoff with the Jack/4 of Clubs, 8/3 of Spades and the 8 of Hearts, Miriam quietly folding the Button with Ace/King/7 of Hearts, and the 6/5 of Diamonds, David saying "I call." in the Small Blind with the Queen/9 of Spades, 10/3 of Diamonds and the Queen of Hearts and Olivia whispering "I check." from the Big Blind with the Queen/10 of Clubs, Jack/2 of Hearts and the 9 of Diamonds.

"You're the first draw, David." stated Olivia.

"3 cards, please." whispered David as he pitched the 10/9/3 into the discard pile and received an Ace of Diamonds, 4 of Spades and the 3 of Clubs in exchange.

Olivia went into the tank, thinking:

" _I guess I can try for back-to-back straights."_

"1 card, please." asked Olivia as she pitched the 2 of Hearts into the discard pile and received the Ace of Spades in exchange.

Jeanie stated "3 cards for me, please." as she pitched the King/6/5 into the discard pile and received the 8/4 of Diamonds and the 5 of Hearts in exchange.

"3 cards for me as well, please" whispered Joe who pitched the Jack/4/3 and received the Jack/6 of Spades and the 5 of Clubs in exchange.

"Your option, David." whispered Olivia.

"Check." replied David, knowing that he was probably beat with his pair of Queens.

"Check." whispered Olivia, hoping no one bet against her busted her straight draw.

"I check." responded Jeanie, knowing that her hand actually lost value in the draw.

"Check." said Joe with a sigh, knowing that he couldn't bluff three people off this hand either.

"Time to show your cards, everyone." stated Olivia.

"Just a pair of Queens." replied David as he turned up his cards.

"No straight for me this time." whispered Olivia as she showed her cards.

"That's good." replied Jeanie as she tossed her pair of 2's into the muck.

"Take it." replied Joe as he tossed his pair of 8's into the muck. David nodded as he raked in his pot of 24.

"Nice hand" stated Isaac in sarcasm.

Hand #5 began with Jeanie announcing "I'll fold" from under the gun with the 8/4 of Diamonds, 6/2 of Hearts and the Ace of Spades, Joe quietly calling with the Queen/8/3 of Spades, 8 of Clubs and the 6 of Diamonds, Miriam saying "I Call" from the cutoff with the 5/3 of Diamonds, Queen of Clubs, 4 of Hearts and the 2 of Spades, David quietly folding the Button with Ace/King/Queen of Diamonds, 6 of Spades and the 5 of Hearts, Olivia saying "I call." in the Small Blind with the Jack/10/5 of Spades, 9 of Diamonds and the 8 of Hearts and Isaac whispering "I check." from the Big Blind with the Jack/10/9 of Hearts, 9 of Clubs and the 7 of Diamonds.

"Oh, I'm the first draw this time. 1 card for me, please." stated Olivia as she pitched the 5 into the discard pile and got a 7 of Hearts in exchange (making her second straight in three hands).

"Trying for another straight, huh? OK, I'll take three cards." whispered Isaac as he pitched the Jack/10/7 into the discard pile and received a Jack/7 of Clubs and the King of Hearts in exchange.

"3 cards, please." asked Joe as he pitched the Queen/6/3 into the discard pile and received the 10/2 of Clubs and the 10 of Diamonds in exchange.

Miriam stated "Just 1 card for me, please." as she pitched the Queen into the discard pile and received the 2 of Diamonds and the 5 of Hearts in exchange.

"Check." whispered Olivia, feeling a bit hurt that Isaac called her straight.

"Check." replied Isaac, knowing that he was probably beat with his pair of Nines.

"Check." whispered Joe, hoping that Isaac's read of Olivia was wrong with his 2 pairs.

"I check." responded Miriam, knowing that her pair of 2's was dead in the water.

"Time to show your cards, everyone. I have another straight" stated Olivia as she showed her cards.

"Just a pair of Nines." replied Isaac as he pitched his cards into the muck.

"Take it." replied Joe as he tossed his 2 pair into the muck.

"That's good." replied Miriam as she tossed her pair of 2's into the muck.

Olivia nodded as she raked in her pot of 24.

"I think the trapeze girl is hustling us." stated Jeanie.

Hand #6 began with Joe announcing "I'll raise the pot" from under the gun with the Queen/Jack of Hearts, Ace/Jack of Clubs and the 7 of Diamonds, Miriam quietly calling with the 8/6 of Clubs, and the 8/3/2 of Hearts, David saying "I Call" from the cutoff with the 5/4 of Clubs, 9 of Diamonds, 9 of Hearts and the 8 of Spades, Olivia quietly folding the Button with 9/7/6 of Spades, 10 of Diamonds and the 4 of Hearts, Isaac saying "I fold." in the Small Blind with the 5/4 of Spades, 7 of Clubs, 2 of Diamonds and the 10 of Hearts and Jeanie whispering "I fold." from the Big Blind with the King/2 of Spades, 10 of Clubs and the 8/3 of Diamonds.

"You're the first draw, Joe" stated Olivia.

"No straight this time, huh? OK, I'll take three cards." whispered Joe as he pitched the Ace/Queen/7 into the discard pile and received a 6/5 of Hearts and the 3 of Clubs in exchange.

"3 cards, please." asked Miriam as she pitched the 6/3/2 into the discard pile and received the King/Queen of Clubs and the Jack of Spades in exchange.

David stated "And 3 cards for me, please." as he pitched the 8/5/4 into the discard pile and received the 9/2 of Clubs and the 3 of Spades in exchange.

"Your option, Ringmaster." declared Olivia.

"Check." whispered Joe, feeling a bit hurt that Isaac called her straight.

"All-In." replied Miriam, hoping that she could charm the boys off of their hands by merely smiling at them.

"Call." stated David, knowing his three 9's were enough to win.

"I'm out." responded Joe, knowing that his pair of Jacks was beat by at least one of the 2.

"Time to show your cards, everyone." stated Olivia as she showed her cards.

"Just a pair of Eights." replied Miriam as she presented her hand face up.

"Trip 9's" said David with a grin as he raked in his pot of 162.

"Wow. I was hoping to last a little longer but that's OK. Great hand David, could you or Isaac remember to bring back the table to our room that I brought as you guys still need it?"

Both Isaac and David nodded, with David adding "Great hand Miriam, goodnight."

"Night Miriam." said Olivia as she smiled and waved.

"Goodnight, stay beautiful." added Joe.

"Have a good night." whispered Jeanie as Miriam waved at those who were still in as she left the room.

Level 4, Final Table = 4-8 Blinds. Stack for the Table: David 310, Olivia 180, Jeanie 164, Isaac 110, Joe 36.

Hand #1 began with David announcing "Raise Pot" from under the gun with the Queen/7 of Diamonds, 7/5 of Clubs and the 8 of Hearts. Olivia quietly calling from the cutoff seat with the Jack/3 of Clubs, 9/3 of Hearts and the Jack of Spades. Isaac announcing "Fold" while on the Button with the Queen/10/6 of Hearts and the King/4 of Clubs. Jeanie quietly calling from the Small Blind with the Ace/8/6 of Clubs, the 8 of Spades and the 7 of Hearts and Joe enthusiastically folding the Big Blind with the Jack/5/2 of Hearts, Queen of Clubs and the 9 of Diamonds.

"Your draw, Jeanie." stated Olivia.

"3 cards, please." replied Jeanie who tossed her Ace/7/6 into the discard pile and received the 3 of Spades as well as the 2 of Diamonds and Clubs in exchange.

"3 cards for me as well, please." stated David as he pitched his Queen/8/5 into the discard pile and received a 9 of Clubs and the 5/4 of Spades in exchange.

"Just 1 card for me, please." asked Olivia as she changed her 9 for a 6 of Diamonds.

Jeanie went into the tank, thinking:

" _Oh great, another straight draw for Olivia. If it were just her and me, I might try to bluff her out of the hand. But with David between us, I could get caught."_

"Check." announced Jeanie.

David knocked the table twice, indicating a silent check.

"I Check." replied Olivia, knowing that she had the hand won.

"Time to show your cards everyone." declared Joe.

"2 Pair, 8's and 2's." declared Jeanie as she turned her hand face-up

"Beats my pair of 7's." replied David as he tossed his hand into the muck.

"I have 2 pair too but mine are Jacks and 3's, I win." said Olivia cheerfully as she showed her cards and raked in her pot of 92.

"Nice hand, at least it wasn't another straight." whispered David.

"Agreed." replied Jeanie.

Hand #2 began with Olivia announcing "Call" from under the gun with the King/10 of Spades, King of Diamonds, Jack of Hearts and the Ace of Clubs. Isaac quietly calling from the cutoff seat with the Ace/3/2 of Diamonds and the Ace/5 of Spades. Jeanie announcing "Call" while on the Button with the 8/3 of Spades, 10 of Clubs, 10 of Diamonds and the 4 of Hearts. Joe quietly calling from the Small Blind with the 7/6 of Diamonds, the 7/2 of Clubs and the 5 of Hearts and David enthusiastically checking the Big Blind with the Ace/2 of Hearts, 8/6 of Clubs and the 8 of Diamonds by knocking on the table 3 times.

"Oh wow, a community pot. Your draw, Joe." stated Olivia.

"3 cards, please." replied Joe who tossed his 6/5/2 into the discard pile and received the Queen/9 of Spades as well as the Jack of Diamonds in exchange.

"I'll take 3 cards as well, please." said David as he pitched his Ace/6/2 into the discard pile and received a King/9 of Hearts and the Queen of Clubs in exchange.

"3 cards for me, please." stated Olivia as she pitched her Ace/Jack/10 into the discard pile and received a Queen/9/5 of Diamonds in exchange.

"3 for me as well, please." asked Isaac as he changed his 5/3/2 for a 9 of Clubs and the 6/4 of Spades.

Jeanie quietly pitched her 8/4/3 into the discard pile and received the Jack of Clubs, 6 of Hearts and the 2 of Spades in exchange.

"Your option, Joe." whispered Olivia

"Check." he announced, unsure a pair of 7's would hold up against 4 people

David knocked the table three times, indicating a silent check with his pair of 8's.

"I Check." replied Olivia, knowing that her pair of Kings wasn't quite good enough.

"Check." announced Isaac, knowing his pair of Aces would somehow win.

"Check." replied Jeanie, knowing her pair of 10's were toast.

"Time to show our cards, everyone." announced Olivia.

"Pair of Sevens." declared Joe as he turned his hand face-up

"Pair of 8's." replied David as he showed his cards.

"Just Kings for me." said Olivia as she sighed and turned up her cards.

"Aces for me." announced Isaac with glee as he turned his hand face up.

"Take it, beats my 10's." replied Jeanie as she tossed her hand into the muck.

"Victory is mine." announced Isaac as he raked in his pot of 40.

"Nice hand." whispered Joe.

Hand #3 began with Isaac announcing "I'll raise the pot" from under the gun with the 7/2 of Spades, 5/2 of Diamonds and the 10 of Clubs. Jeanie quietly folding from the cutoff seat with the Ace/8/3 of Clubs, King of Diamonds and the Ten of Spades. Joe announcing "I don't have enough to call, So the ringmaster is All-In" while on the Button with the Queen/10/8/3 of Diamonds and the Jack of Hearts. David quietly calling from the Small Blind with the 9/4 of Diamonds, the 8/7 of Hearts and the 4 of Clubs and Olivia quietly folding the Big Blind with the King/Queen/5 of Spades, Jack of Clubs and the 6 of Hearts. Jeanie took a moment to count the chips in the middle:

"Is there a problem, Jeanie?" asked Olivia.

"Yes. Of the 88 in the pot, 8 has to be put aside." she replied.

"I...don't understand." stated Olivia, confused.

Joe took over, having suspected that this was going to come up for Olivia at some point this evening "Because my all-in was smaller than Isaac's Pot-sized raise, I'm not eligible for all of the chips that are in play. I was 4 chips short and there are 2 other people that are still in the hand so 8 is a side pot that is only for them."

"Oh OK, I get it now. Your draw, David." stated Olivia.

"I'll take 3." said David as he pitched his 9/8/7 into the discard pile and received a King/6 of Clubs and the King of Hearts in exchange.

"3 cards for me, please." asked Isaac as he changed his 10/7/5 for the Aces of Hearts, Diamonds and Spades in exchange.

"Just 1 card for me, please." replied Joe who tossed his Jack of Hearts into the discard pile and received the 7 of Diamonds in exchange (making his flush).

"Your option, David." whispered Olivia

David knocked the table three times, indicating a silent check with his 2 pairs of Kings and Fours.

"Check." announced Isaac, knowing his Full House would not only win, but betting David out of the hand would be counter-productive.

"Showdown time." announced Olivia.

"2 pairs of Kings and Fours" replied David as he showed his cards.

"Full House, Aces over Deuces." announced Isaac with glee as he turned his hand face up.

"Wow. That beats my Queen-High Diamond Flush, I'm out." declared Joe as he turned his hand face-up.

"That means...Isaac scoops both the side pot of 8 and the main pot of 80." declared Jeanie.

"Victory is mine." announced Isaac as he raked in his pots totalling 88.

"Nice hand, well done Mr. Tong." whispered Joe as he shook Isaac's hand.

"How often have you guys seen a Full House beat a Flush?" asked Olivia.

"Only 3 or 4 times in 20 years." replied Jeanie.

"Would you guys like a permanent dealer?" asked Joe. All 4 of the players still involved in the game nodded. They heard a flock of bats flying over the hotel, and a full moon was overlooking Cairo...

...except that the moon was (for lack of a better word), blinking in and out of existence.

"Another sign of the end-times?" asked Jeanie. The men in the room made grunt noises, indicating acknowledgement and agreement. They all remembered their friend writing of similar things happening in his book about (ironically) poker.

"Maybe we should skip a few of the blind levels." suggested Isaac.

"I'm OK with that." answered David. Jeanie and Olivia nodded.

"OK, 8-16 blinds should be big enough." stated Joe.

Level 5, Final Table: 8-16 Blinds. Stacks for the table: David 246, Olivia 224, Isaac 202, Jeanie 128.

Hand #1 began with Jeanie whispering "I call." from under the gun with the 8/7/3 of Hearts and the 6/3 of Spades, David quietly calling on the Button with the Queen/9 of Spades, the Jack/7 of Clubs and the 10 of Hearts, Olivia looking at her hand in the Small Blind and announcing, "Not even worth the discount, I fold." with the King/7 of Spades, the Queen/2 of Diamonds and the 4 of Hearts while Isaac knocked the table three times, indicating a check in the Big Blind with the King/Queen of Clubs, Queen of Hearts, Jack of Diamonds and the 10 of Spades.

"You're the first to draw, Isaac." whispered Olivia.

Not wanting to risk failing to make the straight, Isaac silently put his King/Jack/10 into the discard pile and receiving the 8/2 of Spades and the 3 of Diamonds in exchange.

"3 cards here too, please." stated Jeanie. She pitched her 8/7/6 into the discard pile and received an Ace of Hearts and the 6/5 of Clubs in exchange.

"Just 1 card for me, please." added David as he pitched the 7 and got a 2 of Clubs in exchange.

"Your option, Isaac." stated Olivia.

"Check." he stated, unsure about his pair.

"I check." whispered Jeanie.

"And I will also check." replied David, hoping that this hand was already over.

"Time for the showdown." announced Joe.

"Just a pair of Queens for me." announced Isaac as he turned his hand face up.

"Beats my pair of 3's." replied Jeanie as she threw her hand into the muck

"And both of you beat my Queen-High." added David, tossing away his hand in disgust as Isaac took his pot of 56.

"I could've used your Queen." stated Isaac as he looked at David.

"No you couldn't dude, no you couldn't." replied Jeanie.

Hand #2 began with David announcing "I will raise the pot." from under the gun with the 8/7/5 of Clubs and the Ace/8 of Hearts, Olivia quietly folding on the Button with the Queen/2 of Hearts, the Jack/6 of Spades and the 4 of Diamonds, Isaac looking at his hand in the Small Blind and announcing, "Why not?" and calling with the Ace/4/3 of Spades, the Ten of Clubs and the 3 of Hearts while Jeanie shook her head in the Big Blind, folding the Ace/7 of Diamonds, Queen of Spades, 9 of Hearts and the 6 of Clubs.

"You're the first to draw, Isaac." whispered Olivia.

"3 cards for me, please." said Isaac as he put his Ace/10/4 into the discard pile and receiving the 8/6 of Diamonds and the 5 of Spades in exchange.

"3 cards here too, please." stated David. He pitched his Ace/7/5 into the discard pile and received a Queen/9 of Clubs and the Jack of Diamonds in exchange.

Isaac knocked the table twice, indicating a silent check before Olivia could remind him of his option.

"I check too." replied David.

"Time for the showdown." announced Joe.

"Just a pair of 3's for me." announced Isaac as he turned his hand face up.

"My pair of 8's wins? OK." added David as he took his pot of 128.

"Nice hand, I think." stated Joe.

"Sorry if my reminders are annoying, I'm using them to help me remember how the game works." replied Olivia.

"We know, it's cool." stated Isaac as he looked directly at her, indicating his sincerity.

"Yeah Livy, you're doing just fine." added Jeanie.

Hand #3 began with Olivia announcing "I'll call." from under the gun with the 9/5/3 of Spades and the 7/5 of Diamonds, Isaac quietly calling on the Button with the 10/5/4 of Clubs, the 2 of Spades and the 2 of Diamonds, Jeanie looking at her hand in the Small Blind and announcing, "I'm out." and folding the King/3 of Hearts, the 8/6 of Diamonds and the 7 of Clubs while David announcing "I'll check." from the Big Blind with the Ace/10/8/4 of Spades and the Jack of Hearts.

"You're the first to draw, David." whispered Olivia.

"1 card for me, please." stated David. He pitched his Jack into the discard pile and received a 10 of Diamonds in exchange.

"3 cards for me, please." asked Olivia as she pitched her 9/7/3 and received an 8/6 of Hearts and the 8 of Clubs in exchange.

"3 cards for me as well, please." said Isaac as he put his 10/5/4 into the discard pile and receiving the Queen of Diamonds, Queen of Spades and the 4 of Hearts in exchange.

"Your option, Mr. Flannagan." whispered Olivia.

"I check." replied David, hating his busted flush.

"Me too." whispered Olivia, suspecting her 2 pairs were bad.

Isaac went into the tank, thinking:

" _I've got them. Betting is redundant at this point."_

Isaac knocked the table three times, indicating a check.

"Time for the showdown." announced Joe.

"Ace High. I almost want someone to beat me." announced David as he turned his hand face up.

"Happy to oblige. 2 pairs, 8's and 5's." replied Olivia as she turned her hand face up. One could distinctly hear David mumble "Oh thank god." if they focused enough.

"No good, I have Queens and 2's." added Isaac as he presented his hand to the table, raking in a pot of 56.

"Nice hand." stated Jeanie.

"8's are everywhere tonight, and I think that might be linked to the strange things that we have seen since we got here." mused Joe.

"I've been dreaming of the number 8 for weeks." responded Olivia.

Hand #4 began with Isaac announcing "I'll call." from under the gun with the Jack/5/3 of Clubs, 7 of Hearts and the 5 of Spades, Jeanie quietly calling on the Button with the 10/4 of Clubs, the 3/2 of Spades and the 4 of Hearts, David looking at his hand in the Small Blind and announcing, "I'm in" and calling with the Jack/10/9 of Diamonds and the Ace/Queen of Clubs while Olivia announcing "I'll check." from the Big Blind with the Queen/4/2 of Diamonds, Queen of Spades and the 5 of Hearts.

"You're the first to draw, David." whispered Olivia.

"1 card for me, please." stated David. He pitched his Ace into the discard pile and received a 2 of Clubs in exchange.

"3 cards for me, please." asked Olivia as she pitched her 5/4/2 and received a 9 of Spades, 5 of Diamonds and the 2 of Hearts in exchange.

"3 cards for me as well, please." said Isaac as he put his Jack/7/3 into the discard pile and receiving the 10/9 of Hearts and the 8 of Clubs in exchange.

"And 3 cards for me, please." whispered Jeanie. She pitched her 10/3/2 into the discard pile and received the King of Clubs, 8 of Hearts and the 7 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Your option, Mr. Flannagan." whispered Olivia.

"I check." replied David, hating his busted flush.

"I bet the pot." whispered Olivia, putting the 64 into the pot with confidence.

Isaac went into the tank, thinking:

" _My fives suck."_

Isaac quietly folded.

"I'm all-in. It's only 8 more, I already counted." announced Jeanie.

Joe took a moment to make a count of his own.

"I vouch, Olivia. 8 more for you to call. 72 to you, David."

"No it's not, I fold." replied David.

Olivia went into the tank, thinking to herself:

" _I think my Queens are good. No idea why."_

"I call."

"Time for the showdown." announced Joe.

"Just a pair of Queens." replied Olivia as she turned her hand face up.

"Beats my pair of 4's, I'm out in 4th place." stated Jeanie as she got up to shake hand with everyone that was still in the room.

"I'm so sorry, Jeanie." responded Olivia as she raked in her pot of 208.

"Don't be. That's the name of the game." replied Isaac.

"He's right." added Joe.

"Goodnight Jeanie." stated David as she shook his hand, then headed out for her room.

Level 6, Final Table = 16-32 Blinds. Stacks for the table: Olivia 320 – David 270 – Isaac 210

Hand #1 began with David whispering "I'll call." from the Button with the 5/4 of Spades, 4/3 of Clubs and the 3 of Diamonds, Olivia quietly calling from the Small Blind with the King/10/4 of Hearts, King of Spades and the 9 of Clubs, and Isaac knocking the table three times, indicating a check from the Big Blind with the Queen/8 of Diamonds, Ace of Hearts, Queen of Spades and the 2 of Clubs.

"Hmm, I have the first draw. OK, I'll take 3 cards, please." whispered Olivia. She pitched the 10/9/4 into the discard pile and received the Ace/10 of Spades and the Ace of Diamonds in exchange.

"3 cards for me as well, please." stated Isaac, pitching his Ace/8/2 into the discard pile and receiving the 6/2 of Hearts and the King of Clubs in exchange.

"Just 1 card for me, please." replied David, pitching the 5 into the discard pile and receiving a 3 of Spades in exchange.

Olivia went into the tank, thinking:

" _Whatever David was going for, I think he reached. It's kind of sad that the best possible 2 pair you can have won't even win me this pot but what are you gonna do?"_

"I check." she whispered.

"Check." replied Isaac, who was somewhat more terrified over David only needing 1 card than usual.

"Check." stated David in a dejected manner. He knew betting with his full house was pointless.

"Time for the showdown." announced Joe.

"2 pairs, Aces and Kings." declared Olivia as she turned her hand face up.

"Beats my pair of Queens." replied Isaac as he tossed his hand into the muck.

"But not my full house: 3's over 4's." added David as he turned his hand face up and raked in his pot of 96.

"Wow, 2 houses AND a quad in one night? Maybe all of the weird stuff going on in Cairo is the reason." hypothesized Joe, and no one disagreed with him.

Hand #2 began with Olivia quietly folding from the Button with the King/10/8 of Spades, and the Jack/2 of Diamonds, Isaac announcing "I'll call." from the Small Blind with the Ace/3 of Diamonds, King of Hearts, 6 of Clubs and the 6 of Spades, and David whispering "Check." from the Big Blind with the Ace/3 of Clubs, 5/4 of Diamonds and the 3 of Spades.

"Your draw, Isaac." whispered Olivia.

"3 cards for me, please." stated Isaac, pitching his Ace/King/3 into the discard pile and receiving the King of Diamonds, 8 of Hearts and the 7 of Clubs in exchange.

"3 cards for me as well, please." replied David, pitching the Ace/5/4 into the discard pile and receiving a Queen of Clubs, Queen of Hearts and the 6 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Your option, Isaac." she whispered.

"Check." replied Isaac, who suspected that his pair was no good.

"Check." stated David. He knew his 2 pair was good enough to win.

"Time for the showdown." announced Joe.

"Pair of 6's." replied Isaac as he turned his hand face up.

"2 Pair: Queens and 3's." added David as he turned his hand face up and raked in his pot of 64.

"Nice Hand, We'll be at heads-up soon enough if this keeps going." stated Joe.

"So who is going to be the bubble person?" asked Isaac.

"Bubble?" asked Olivia.

"Poker slang for the person who gets eliminated last before money starts getting paid out." replied David.

Hand #3 began with Isaac quietly raising the pot from the Button with the Ace/Jack/7 of Diamonds, and the Ace/4 of Hearts, David announcing "I'll call." from the Small Blind with the 10/2 of Spades, 6 of Clubs, the 6 of Hearts and the 3 of Diamonds and Olivia whispering "I'll call." from the Big Blind with the Ace/2 of Clubs, Queen/7 of Hearts and the 7 of Spades.

"Your draw, David. And yay, a community pot." whispered Olivia.

"3 cards for me, please." replied David, pitching the 10/3/2 into the discard pile and receiving a Queen of Spades, Queen of Diamonds and the 10 of Clubs in exchange.

"3 cards for me as well, please." stated Olivia as she pitched the Ace/Queen/2 into the discard pile and received the 9/2 of Diamonds and the Jack of Hearts in exchange.

"3 cards for me as well, please." stated Isaac, pitching his Jack/7/4 and receiving the 9/2 of Hearts and the 4 of Spades in exchange.

"Your option, David." she whispered.

"Check." stated David. He knew his 2 pair was good enough to win and in early position, wanted Isaac to go All-In.

"I check." whispered Olivia, already knowing she was caught in the middle of a war between the 2 boys on either side of her.

Isaac quietly stared at his last 34 in chips, then shoved it all-in without saying a word.

"I call." stated David with confidence.

"Annnnnnnnnnnnd, I'm out." replied Olivia, tossing her hand into the muck.

"Time for the showdown." announced Joe.

"2 Pair: Queens and 6's." added David as he turned his hand face up.

"Damnit, I thought my Aces were good." replied Isaac as he mucked his cards.

"And Isaac is our bubble boy." announced Olivia as David scooped his pot of 404.

"David versus Olivia...where David is the Goliath based on the chip stacks." added Joe as he put all of the money on the table as a form of money presentation.

"I can make a comeback." whispered Olivia.

"Great hand, David. I'll take back the table Miriam brought as having it now is redundant at this point." said Isaac as he and David shook hands.

"OK, thanks." responded David.

"Goodnight, Isaac." replied Joe.

"See you tomorrow, Isaac." added Olivia as Isaac exited, table and all.

Level 7, Final Table = 32-64 Blinds. Stack for the table: David – 624, Olivia – 176

"Can I get a splash? I know we've been shuffling that deck in between hands but..." started David.

"Of course." replied Joe, who immediately spread the cards out all over the table, face down.

"So with only 2 people to go, who gets the dealer button?" asked Olivia.

"Normally, it would go to me as per normal. But casino rules dictate that in 1-on-1 play, the dealer is also the small blind. So you Olivia, act first pre-draw, but I draw first and have the 1st post-draw betting option."

Olivia scratched her head in confusion, Joe silently nodded as he pulled in the cards, as if to say "He's telling the truth."

Hand #1 began with Olivia announcing "As I don't even have enough to cover a full pot-sized raise, I'm all-in." She shoved all of her remaining chips into play with the 8/5 of Diamonds, 6/2 of Hearts and 9 of Clubs.

"Oh what the hell, I call." replied David in the Big Blind with the King/4 of Hearts, Queen of Spades, 10 of Diamonds and the 6 of Clubs.

"Don't turn your hands up just yet. David, how many cards would you like?" asked Joe.

"Just 2 cards for me, please." he replied as he pitched his 6 and 4 into the discard pile and received an Ace of Spades and the King of Clubs in exchange.

"And 1 card for me, please." responded Olivia as she pitched her 2 and received a 5 of Hearts.

"As Olivia is already all-in, no option is needed. Mr. Flannagan, please turn over your hand." announced Joe.

"If you can't beat a pair of Kings, I've won." declared David as he turned his hand face up.

"I...can't. I was going for a straight and just paired my 5. Congratulations to you, David." replied Olivia as she turned her hand face-up. Joe took a moment and separated 60 out of the money pile for Olivia, then handed the rest over to David.

"And congratulations to you, Miss Olivia. First game ever and you doubled your money." replied David.

"Indeed, you played very well." added Joe.

"Thank you gentleman, although I was happy with not being knocked out first." confided Olivia.

"Get some sleep, both of you, I want a full rehearsal tomorrow before the show. I can pack up on my own." ordered Joe.

David and Olivia nodded, whispering "Goodnight." simultaneously. They each exited the room (Olivia first, then David) then were walking down the hallway...

...as Olivia had to grab the wall.

"Olivia, what's wrong?" asked David, tempted to scream out for help to get her to the local chemist.

"Do you know how Aaron says we have different friends in different places in different stories?" she asked while crying.

David only nodded.

"All I see are 3 images on a loop: Some of them in one place, dancing in a poorly lit club to music that I can't even begin to comprehend. Others are driving around in...small 1-person carriages without horses or camels...for sport? And the image of 3 planets crashing into each other. It's OK, they're gone now."

"Are you sure?" asked David.

"Yes, I'll be fine." nodded Olivia reassuringly. They each reached their rooms without any further incident.

Chapter 4: 12 hours to curtain

 _Song to put on: Buckethead—Sunbursts_

"Good morning to you, officer." announced Megan as she walked into the police station down the street from the hotel. There were no doors to speak of at this place, just off-yellow walls, ceiling and holes in the walls resembling doorways separating each room. Megan was at the main counter, waiting for a local officer (whose name she didn't know, she just distinguished him as nearly 2 metres tall, thin and well dressed in white dress pants and a blue collared shirt).

"Must have a casual dress attitude during the day." she thought to herself.

He grabbed a set of skeleton keys hanging from a wall in the back of the station and waved Megan to meet him outside behind the station. She followed him by going out the way she came in, turning right as soon as she was outside, untying her camel from a mud (or possibly clay, Megan wasn't sure) pole that was also a foundation of the building itself, making another right almost immediately afterwards so that she was heading south to the rear of the station. The officer grabbed a nearby rope (deep yellow, 30 centimetres thick) and made a noose on each end. 1 end was then quickly tied to the caravan that contained their tent/other supplies, the other was handed to Megan as the officer pointed to a metal knob on the back of the black leather camel saddle.

"Thank you for helping me set up, officer." said Megan with a smile. The officer merely nodded in acknowledgement. Megan's best guess was that this particular police officer only understood the basics of the English language, but did not speak a single word of it himself. She bowed to him as a sign of kindness, which he returned with a smile and the raising of his right index finger.

"Yes, I'll wait a minute." said Megan softly. He went back into the station and walked up a staircase.

He returned a few moments later with a burlap sack (that looked full) and 2 canteens (all with looped string around them, making makeshift necklaces).

"The sack of grain and 1 of the canteens is for the camel, the other canteen is for me?" asked Megan. The officer nodded.

"Wow, thank you again, sir. My friends and I will be back later this evening to store our supplies again."

They bowed one more time before the officer went back inside. Megan wrapped the gifts around the camel's neck, making sure to be gentle.

"I know you guys can go without food or water for days so is it OK if I space out your gifts over the whole day?"

Strangely, the Camel nodded.

"Can you...understand me?" asked Megan to the Camel. The Camel nodded.

"Wow, that's incredible. I don't know why, but do you mind if I name you Ashley? For some strange reason I've always had an affinity for that name, even boys with that name."

The camel grunted, it almost sounded like the snort a human makes every time they have to hold back laughing. The camel then shook its' head, as if to say "Sorry. I don't mind at all."

"OK, Ashley. Do you remember where we set up 2 days ago?"

Ashley the Camel nodded. Megan got on Ashley, then whispered "Lead the way Ashley, hopefully this wasn't more awkward than when my friend wrote about me watching him die."

Some of the circus performers did not technically need rehearsal. Fabio/Lucas didn't need practice being conjoined twins (as that was their life), Jeanie didn't need help being a clown (as the way she acted for each show was improvisational depending on how many children were in the crowd), Joe didn't need practice being a ringmaster (as keeping crowd control and introducing the acts had become second nature to him in his time on this earth), Kate merely had to stretch to maintain her...tricks, Laura could only take 1 cannonball every couple of days (without risking permanent bowel damage), David K. Could only handle fire-breathing a few times a week himself and Laurie didn't need help with her beard (as it was better to not trim it from the perspective of the paying customer). They met in the middle of the tent in a huddle formation, as they did with every rehearsal, to determine who helped who. Joe opened the dialogue with his non-rehearsal performers:

"OK, first on the agenda: Who spots Tyrone while he's lifting?" he asked.

"I'll go. I haven't done it in a while." replied David K.

"Thank you, Mr. Kay. Who will assist Rick with his sword?" continued Joe.

"We will. Provided he hasn't eaten any more of that butter of peanuts that we tried in Atlanta that time." mumbled Fabio/Lucas.

"Oh God, IT WAS 3 YEARS AGO! WHEN ARE YOU 2 GOING TO GIVE IT A REST?" shouted Rick.

Joe, always the diplomat, simply said steadily "Keep it down guys. OK, Fabio and Lucas can help Rick. Who helps James and Miriam with the knives?"

"I'll do it. They'll need some laughs to keep calm with that many knives being thrown." answered Jeanie.

Joe nodded in approval "Logical thinking of you, Jeanie. I'll take Megan, the kid could use an easy practice with setting up so quickly all by herself."

"I'll take Gloria. I think I'm getting the nightmares now, too." said Kate in a state of mild shell shock.

"Sorry to hear that, Kate. Anyone want to help David F. Practice his world record attempt?" asked Joe as he stared intently at his juggler.

"I'll do it. He and I both require acute focus with round objects in the air. The only valid difference being that he focuses on more of them and they're all smaller...not to mention that his are non-lethal." mumbled Laura.

"Very good. I guess that leaves Laurie with Isaac and Olivia's trapeze act. Have you ever helped them before?" asked Joe, sincerely not recalling if she had or not.

Laurie shook her head before answering "No. But I think I've handled people like Olivia before, in several of Aaron's stories. I just have to listen to her and never get angry."

Joe nodded, but felt a need to add "You also need to inspect the safety net and make sure that it's set-up properly. Mishaps happen all of the time, but if the net is set-up wrong or if there's a tear in it, it amplifies the mistake greatly. Does anyone have any questions before we head over to our assignments?"

They all shook their heads, and quietly broke the huddle in order to get started.

 _Song to out on: Buckethead – Lobster Hands_

"OK, Tyrone. What are you going to be lifting tonight? The usual ultra weight-stacked barbell?" Asked David K.

"No, not that. Tonight, I want to do something special as this may be our only time in Africa. Tonight I want to lift...the Thomas Inch Dumbbell." Tyrone declared with a grin.

David K. Gasped in complete shock, his eyes widened in horror.

"Is that why our cargo is so much heavier since we left North America?" he asked as Tyrone opened a black wooden trunk. He then rolled out the contents onto the sand before he finally answered "It weighs just shy of 78.5 kg. I know I've lifted considerably larger weights (as have others) but the Thomas Inch dumbbell is nearly impossible to lift on account of its' extremely thick handle which you can see here..."

Tyrone stopped speaking momentarily as he pointed at one side of the dumbbell. David K. Walked over and now understood why Tyrone was making this particular point.

"This handle...is what? 6 centimetres in diameter?" guessed David K. Tyrone nodded.

"So I need to have a perfect grip even as I lift it because if I lose it, I can pretty much kiss my feet goodbye if I'm not careful."

A lightbulb went off in David K's head. "I think I can help you with that, wait here for a moment."

2 minutes later, David K. Returned with a white powdery bag.

"What in the blue hell is that?" asked Tyrone as he stared at it intently.

"It's called a rosin bag. I always put a little powder on my hands before I handle my fire wand because it increases my grip. If that thing slips from my hand on account of sweaty hands with an open flame on it and it doesn't land in the sand..."

Tyrone nodded, immediately understanding "You burn yourself badly. OK, let's give it a try."

David K. Put the bag in Tyrone's left hand "Make sure both of your palms and the insides of all of your fingers are completely covered. The desert heat will make your hands sweat profusely."

Tyrone nodded as he followed his spotter's instructions. David K. (to his credit) was able to push the dumbbell so that the handle was on the top.

"OK, just lift it up to your knees. No sense in risking injury before showtime."

The magnus did indeed lift it as instructed, he even did a set of 10 while laughing.

"Oh Mr. Kay, Thank you very much." he exclaimed.

 _Song to put on: Bush – Swallowed_

"Now are you sure that you haven't eaten any of the butter of peanuts yesterday or today?" asked Fabio/Lucas in a way that was obvious teasing.  
"Shut up." responded Rick while opening his sword bag. He took out his smallest blade and inspected it very closely.

"Why the smallest blade?" asked Lucas.

Rick was quick to reply "I use the smallest blade when I practice as it opens my throat and oesophagus enough for my main blade to be inserted during the actual performance, but not enough to cause any damage to the linings inside of me during rehearsal."

"That makes sense, but why inspect the blade?" asked Fabio.

"A few of my blades over the years have been chipped or even broken just from storing them incorrectly. 1 can never be too careful when handling metal."

"So what do you need us to do, exactly?" asked Lucas.

Rick thought it over before answering "Basically, just make sure I shove it down my throat correctly and be ready to slowly pull it out once I'm ready. Make sure your hands are steady when you do that, please?"

Fabio and Lucas nodded. They watched as Rick changed his posture so that it was as erect as possible (to minimize the risk of tearing anything inside of him), then forced themselves to continue watching as he inserted his practice sword down his throat. Once it was all the way inside, Rick counted to 10 in his head. Once he reached 10, he bent over so that his body was at a perfect 90 degree angle on the Z axis.

"O-ay. U-an-ae-ee-ow-ow."

Fabio was the first to interpret that as "OK. You can take it out now." but both hands of our dear conjoined twins were what successfully pulled the sword out.

"Feeling alright?" asked Lucas.

After a minute of Rick breathing heavily, he replied "Never better, let's go again..."

 _Song to put on: Buckethead – The escape wheel_

"You mean to tell me that you actually make poor Miriam get on the board that you throw knives at...at practice?" asked Jeanie, somewhat horrified.

James shook his head "Oh no, she just blindfolds and spins me around before I throw them and pulls out the blades after I throw them. See, I know where she is on the board based on that outline of a human body on it."

Miriam pointed to a bright red outline on the board, similar to a chalk outline at a crime scene. Jeanie gave a thumbs up, more than slightly appreciative of there not being any risk to Miriam's life.

"So what do I do?" asked Jeanie, who then started making funny faces as she noticed that Miriam was tense (as if on instinct). To Jeanie's credit, Miriam giggled before replying "Spin the wheel, get the hell out of the way, then help me get the blades out after he throws them.

Jeanie nodded and walked over towards the wheel. She noticed that there were little sticks set every few centimetres apart along the wheel that one could grab and spin. She spun the wheel after Miriam had begun spinning a blindfolded James. Jeanie then quickly walked away as Miriam stopped James from moving. There were 5 knives that James threw altogether, all in rapid succession (less than 4 seconds to throw all 5 at the wheel, actually).

"How did I do?" asked James while still blindfolded.

Miriam was hesitant to reply "Well...the good news is that 4 of the 5 blades missed me. The bad news is that the 5th one landed somewhere between my belly button and my lady parts. Hopefully with enough force to kill me quickly, as I imagine that the pain would be beyond my comprehension."

"Point taken. Help Jeanie get the blades out, I'll get it right." instructed James. Miriam obliged and she/Jeanie removed the knives.

 _Song to put on: Pantera – It makes them disappear_

"How do you feel? Getting up earlier than the rest of us and setting up alone and all." Asked Joe.

"Well, thankfully I didn't have to unpack the bleachers as we're not letting people inside for a while. So I can't complain about setting up too much. I think my handcuffs might have been broken in storage last night, though." replied Megan while staring intently the handcuffs.

"What makes you say that?" offered Joe as he moved slightly closer to her.

"Well, there's a fail-safe on each cuff in case I struggle to get out. It's a little lever to the left of each cuff that I can push with my thumb. But when I go to push it, it won't move. It's almost as if something is obstructing both levers on the inside of the handcuffs. I hope that I can fix them before tonight because I haven't seen a blacksmith anywhere in Cairo and even if there is one, they won't be cheap."

Joe then took a handheld black leather case out of his left breast pocket.

"An eyeglass repair kit? Wow, I didn't know that you could afford one of those, much less have one." asked Megan as she scratched the right side of her head.

"There are a lot of tiny pieces of metal with handcuffs, much like my eyeglasses. OK, there's 1 cuff fixed...and then there's the other one. The spring that the lever pushes inside each cuff was warped. You're probably right in that it probably was damaged in storage but they should be working well enough to do this show. Now let's move onto the stuff coming out of your hat..."

 _Song to put on: Death Cube K – Slow Descent_

"OK, Kate. Give me your palm, please." ordered Gloria.

"Does it matter which one I show you?" asked Kate, Gloria shook her head. Kate stuck out her right hand with her palm facing upward. Gloria began staring at it while caressing it lightly with her index fingers.

"Well...anything?" asked Kate.

Gloria was struggling to articulate what she could barely comprehend "It's the strangest thing. I see your past, but then I see pasts with you in them but I know that they're not yours. 1 where you were a suspect in a murder at some hotel, 1 where you were a saloon girl somewhere in Russia..."

Kate laughed while replying "Those are just your memories of the stories I was in that Aaron wrote, silly."

Gloria continued without further interruption "Then I see a you tending to the wounds of soldiers and addressing them in French, like that was your native language instead of English."

Kate gulped, having never been more terrified in her life.

"I...dreamed that last night. I also dreamed of a dozen different me's in the same room but we were all wearing different clothes, had different coloured hair...but we were all..."

Kate then burst into tears.

"All of the me's...were burning from the inside. I could feel all of these me's dying simultaneously."

Gloria just held her in her arms, "I hate being so in tune with the unexplained sometimes, I'm sorry that you had to feel this Kate. If it's any consolation, Livy and I are feeling the burning too."

 _Song to put on: Insane Clown Posse – The Juggla_

David F. Stared at his bag of balls, for every juggler had one. It was black suede on the outside, blue double-stitched satin on the inside, and capable of holding 64 professionally-made juggler balls (but David had other juggler friendly objects in the bag as well). David had purchased his collection 1-4 balls at a time, and made sure to get them in varying colours because different kids liked different colours.

"What's the record again?" asked Laura.

David F. was quick to answer "8 is the current world record verified by Guinness. Unofficially, I've personally seen someone do 11 and have heard of 12 being done by someone that I trust. I'm planning to blow everyone out of the water by doing 13. The exact rule for the record is that I must maintain all 13 balls in the air for 60 consecutive seconds without a single ball touching the ground."

Laura tried to restrain her cynicism and was (at best), half successful "And as most jugglers can't even hold 8 balls, do you want me to toss you the other 5 during the show itself as well as this rehearsal?"

David F. stuck his hands out, already holding 7 balls in the right hand and 6 balls in the left hand.

"I stand corrected. I forgot about your big hands, I'm sorry." announced Laura as she looked down at the sand, feeling embarrassed.

"No need. I just need someone to time me while I juggle." replied David F. as he put the balls down and handed her a silver-backed wind up stopwatch out of his pants pocket. After winding it quite considerably, he handed it to Laura.

"Push the button on the top when I say 'Now', OK? That will start the stopwatch. Press it again either after 61 seconds or if I drop a ball, understood?" asked David.

"Got it. Begin when ready." replied Laura as she analyzed the stopwatch carefully, having never seen one before in her life.

"NOW!" shouted David as he tossed the first ball. Laura pushed the knob and the second hand begin its' movement right as the 13th ball entered the air. The tricks David was utilizing was achieving a minimum height (to dazzle the spectator), tossing with alternating hands in regulated intervals of a quarter of a second and catching with the opposite hand of the one he most recently tossed one up in the air with.

"30 seconds, halfway there and doing just fine." announcing Laura.

There was visible sweat coming from Dave's forehead (and not entirely related to the sweltering heat of the Egyptian sun) as he regimented his breathing in order to maintain focus. Laura held back excitement as the stopwatch passed the 45 second mark.

"How did you afford a stopwatch?" asked Laura.

"I didn't, it's ringmaster Joe's. How much time is left to go?"

"10 seconds...9...8"

David got cocky and started tossing the balls higher, but he adjusted his tossing and catching times accordingly. To Laura, it was as if he had already worked this "improvisation" into his act. Some of the balls reached 5 metres into the air.

"...and...TIME!"

David kept juggling for a couple of extra seconds in order to make sure that he did it for a full 60 seconds.

"OK. You don't need any more practice then." stated Laura in shock.

 _Song to put on: Van Halen – Jump_

By the time that Laurie had set up the safety net, Isaac was hanging upside down from the left trapeze (ready to catch) and Olivia was on the board, holding the right trapeze firmly in both hands (ready to flip). For Olivia, this was the first time that she wasn't so deep inside of herself that she could actually appreciate the height, looking down at all of her friends or across to the other side of the tent, where her catcher hung, picking up momentum.

"So what's your stunt?" asked Laurie, staring directly at Olivia.

"A quintuple twisting triple flip. Due to my small body frame, I've made it my standard jump. Aaron told me that I'm the only girl who can do it with any significant level of success."

Laurie shifted her body over so that it was facing left instead of right "OK Isaac, how does the net look up there? Too loose? Too tight?"

Isaac did his best to turn his head around to see as much of the net as possible. "Looks good. Too loose and she hits the ground directly, too tight and the bounce would injure her."

Laurie nodded "OK. Ready when you guys are."

Olivia waited until Isaac was the farthest away from her that he could be in his swinging. That was the moment she knew to be the "sweet spot" to jump off of her board, fall downward, swing up, let go, twist 5 degrees for every 3 degrees of flip, extend her arms and grab Isaac as soon as she felt flesh. And all of this within approximately 4 seconds.

"Here I come." shouted Olivia.

Her timing, jump, descension, ascension, release and twist/flip were technically flawless...

...but she lost grip of Isaac. 1 hand losing grip would've been fine, as she could've swung with Isaac and let herself fall to the centre of the net and try again after a few minutes with no problem at all. But this time, Olivia slipped with both of Isaac's hands and was still twisting and flipping somewhat as she fell. 5 more degrees off in any axis would've been fatal. But that was of little comfort to her or the rest of the circus, especially as they all heard a very loud pop, only to be drowned out by her screams, even keening.

 _Song to put on: Finger Eleven – Bones and Joints_

It took the better part of an hour to reach the town chemist, in fact Mayor Hassan had found Olivia, Isaac, Megan and Joe on 2 of the police camels first. He came running towards them.

"What's wrong with your trapeze girl?"

"She fell, hard. The net is pretty much the only thing that saved her life." replied Isaac.

"Who's watching your rehearsal?" asked Mayor Hassan to Joe.

"I left David K. the fire-breather in charge. I couldn't let Olivia come here without her ringmaster."

Mayor Hassan nodded and walked towards an old clay cabin labelled "الصيدلي (Chemist)" and banged on the clay repeatedly. Joe heard what he could only assume were frantic requests for help with occasional Arabic expletives sprinkled in to emphasize the urgency. Someone came running out with Mayor Hassan, someone who most assuredly did not look Egyptian (in fact, Megan guessed that he was British).

"My name is Benedict, I understand that she (points to Olivia) is injured."

"It's my right arm, sir. I can make a fist, although not well. I distinctly heard a pop, but not a break which leads me to suspect that my right shoulder is dislocated, but no bones are broken. I'm not sure about rotation damage, but If I have any, my career is over."

Benedict was thoughtfully nodding as she explained her own diagnosis. He then (very gently) touched the right shoulder, making Olivia wince and cry all over again.

"I believe you're right. OK, on a count of 3 I'll be putting it back in as best that I can. Take my black handkerchief and put it in your mouth so that the whole town won't hear you screaming, OK? Don't worry, it's clean."

Olivia nodded, it was already in her mouth.

"OK. 1...2..."

 _ **POP!**_

Benedict popped it back in right as he said 3. Olivia took his handkerchief out after 1 good, long scream and began wiping her tears away.

"Now, can you make this movement for me?" asked the chemist as he rotated his whole right arm in the air like a windmill.

"I'll try." whispered Olivia. She succeeded, but with some pain.

"OK. There doesn't appear to be any rotation damage, so your career is safe for now. 1 week's rest, and you should be fine."

"But I have a trapeze act in just a few hours." said Olivia, astonished that she would have to miss a show.

Isaac waved it off "Don't worry about it, Olivia. I could deputy ringmaster and take some of the burden away from Joe."

Megan nodded, adding "And you can assist me for a few shows. Healing shoulder doesn't affect my saw the girl into thirds trick that I have but rarely use."

A voice filled Olivia's mind "Ask for half an adult's dose of laudanum."

"What?"

"Olivia, who are you talking to?" asked Megan.

"No one. Sir, can you spare half an adult dose of laudanum for me?" asked Olivia to Benedict.

Benedict was shocked that Olivia even knew that word. "I think so, but it's highly addictive so I don't know if I should give you any as your pain is not life-threatening..."

"Tell him that's why you don't want a full dose."

"That's why I don't want a full dose, sir. I'm barely in my 20's and don't want to be a junkie, I promise."

Benedict stared at Olivia, assessing her body frame. "OK, but I'm not liable. Agreed?"

Olivia nodded. Benedict ran back inside and grabbed a black glass bottle. He returned a few minutes later.

"This is the last of this bottle. It tastes nasty so I added 2 parts clean water to it and gave it quite a stir. Where am I sending the bill?"

"Four Seasons hotel, room..." started Joe.

"Charge it to my office." ordered Mayor Hassan, leading to Isaac, Olivia, Megan and Joe staring at him. "I have an expense budget every year I'm in office. I rarely use it."

"Thank you gentlemen." declared Olivia as she hugged the Mayor and the Chemist. She drank the laudanum, and even burped slightly.

"Tastes like almonds." she announced.

"Watch her, OK?" asked Benedict to Joe. Joe nodded as they got back on their camels and rode off.

Chapter 5: The Tent Opens

The pre-show walking rounds of Jeanie Gotcher were always for 2 reasons: To hype up the crowd (especially the children), and to do a head count of those in attendance for Joe. She even had a routine where she would make a funny face, a little dance or the like for 1 section of seating, then count a row (there were 10 rows per bleacher plus smaller children tended to sit on the sand). It was uncommon for Jeanie to take any notice of a particular individual, but on this night, she was tasked to by members of her crew.

"Are you guys READY?" she screamed.

"YEAH!" replied the entire crowd. If the Egyptian audience were told to remain polite and merely clap, then this was a cultural rebellion of epic proportions (or perhaps not, as Mayor Hassan kept his word and was in the audience for this show, no security at his side either).

"I'll see what I can do to get everyone out faster, one moment please."

Jeanie went backstage to see what was taking the crew so long. It turns out, there was a good reason for the delay:

"Olivia, you don't have to do this tonight. Quite honestly, You should probably sit out the next show in Athens after we leave Egypt too." instructed Joe.

"My shoulder will hold up, and I purposely asked for a half dose of laudanum because..."

Olivia didn't want to tell them that it was a voice in her head who told her what to do, so she scrambled for a more acceptable reason.

"...I knew that a full dose would have me hallucinating for the next day or 2 and I would be that much more likely to become addicted to the stuff."

"We're just looking out for you. If you slip again, you may not be able to perform ever again." whispered Rick.

Olivia breathed heavily and walked over to Gloria "Your visions work off of physical contact, right?"

Gloria nodded. That was all that Olivia needed to hear as she squeezed her hand gently. To say that Gloria was flooded with visualizations of Olivia's upcoming evening would be a drastic understatement.

"Let her go on the trapeze, guys." stated Gloria.

Joe needed a moment to consider what Gloria was doing "Your visions are good enough for me. OK Jeanie, headcount."

"We're almost at a thousand people, counting the kids. Mayor Hassan made it, oh and I also think I saw the Guinness man."

Isaac then came stumbling in with a top hat full of Egyptian coins "It's a sellout, our most profitable show ever and the latecomers have already started heading back to the city as I told them that we have no room left in the tent."

Isaac then carefully entered the contents of the top hat into a burlap sack next to Joe's changing area. The entire circus then joined hands for the pre-show pep talk.

"Outstanding everyone, this is what we came here for." announced Joe.

"Now we just need to put on the performance of our lives and break a couple of world records." declared David K.

"YEAH!" shouted the entire circus as they lined up in the order of their performance. Ringmaster Joe put on his top hat (Which still smelled of money, a smell that Joe always loved in any Aaronworld), followed quickly by his cape.

 _Song to put on: Queen – The show must go on_

Joe emerged to the waiting Cairo audience to a standing ovation. He took a moment to soak in the adulation (a rarity in his opening announcements). This was why he was so aggressive in his pursuit to be the first circus from outside of Egypt to play in Egypt. Entertainment for families was needed the world over. He lifted his megaphone, loud and proud:

" _Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages. I, Joseph Pauletich am proud to bring to you, the Legends circus. Introducing our first act, the Yorkshire Fire-breather...MISTER...DAVID...KAY!"_

David Kay emerged, his hands freshly dusted with rosin and holding a small torch.

" _Now folks, If Mr. Kay inhales, he can pretty much kiss his face goodbye. If he breathes too heavily or in the wrong direction, the entire tent will be in flames so I must ask for complete silence."_

The crowd followed their orders as David K. Stared at the flame. After a moment, he blew directly into the flame, causing a 3 metre flame to go almost straight up in the air. The crowd couldn't help themselves, muttering "OOOH" and "AAAH" as the flame continued in a surprisingly controlled burst. David K then varied the intensity of his breathing to make the flame increase and decrease size at will. After 2 minutes, David K stopped his exhaling (while also making sure not to inhale) and put the open flame into his mouth to extinguish it, to great applause.

" _Give it up for the Yorkshire Fire-breather, Thank you very much Mr. Kay. Next up folks is a lady who only comes out when things get...hairy..."_

The crowd laughed. The entire circus was impressed that the audience understood English (as their Arabic was quite limited). Ringmaster Joe continued:

" _Everyone please welcome, the bearded lady, LAURIE STANSFIELD!"_

Laurie came out, smiling and waving to the crowd. There were surprisingly few gasps in the crowd. Joe then handed her the megaphone:

" _Now normally, I just come out here, let a few people come up, touch the beard, I sing a little song about still being a woman and leave. But tonight, is very special. The legends circus will be trying to break not 1, but TWO world records tonight. I would like to ask David Phelps of Guinness to come down to get a better view of them, please."_

David Phelps left his seat (back row, bleacher 3, seat 3 so he was left of centre) and walked towards Laurie and Joe, making sure to shake their hands. He was wearing an all-black suit, and asked for the megaphone, which Laurie readily handed to him after an approving nod from ringmaster Joe.

"I came all the way from England for this, you better break at least 1 of them" he announced. He had a frown on his face that suggested that better than 90% of the record attempts he saw ended in failure...or worse. He handed the megaphone back to Laurie.

" _Presenting the first record attempt, the world's strongest man...Tyrone Magnus."_

Tyrone came out to a "Magnus" chant (that caused him to grin and nod in approval). He shook Mr. Phelps' hand and walked with Laurie, Joe and Mr. Phelps a few metres to the west, his Thomas Inch dumbbell already in position. Laurie held the megaphone in position for Tyrone to address his fans:

" _What is happening, Magnusites?"_

The crowd cheered as he accepted their name for themselves. Laurie then put the megaphone up to the mouth of Mr. Phelps, hoping that he would break down the dumbbell for the audience:

" _78.4375 kilogram dumbbell with a 6 cm handle protruding from the top. And as I can't lift it at all, I can verify that this is indeed a Thomas Inch dumbbell. A dumbbell that no human being has successfully lifted AND maintained grip."_

Tyrone was undeterred, merely shouting towards the crowd "With my magnusites, WE WILL LIFT IT TOGETHER!"

The crowd roared, especially the children. Tyrone then stood behind the dumbbell and bent his knees slightly to take some of the pressure off of his back. After 3 deep breaths, he grabbed the handle with both hands (heavily powdered from David K.'s rosin bag) and once it was over his waist, David Phelps announced: _"Ladies and gentlemen, he must maintain the lift for 5 seconds...1...2...3..."_

A bead of sweat from Tyrone's forehead left his face, momentarily causing him worry as it might be enough for him to lose his grip...

" _...4..."_

Luckily, it landed on the back of his left hand.

" _...5...Ladies and Gentleman, the newest World Record Holder...TYRONE MAGNUS!"_

The entire crowd stood up and chanted "Magnus, Magnus, Magnus" as Tyrone ran around slapping the hands of all of the children in the front row. When finally returned, he hugged Mr. Phelps, Joe and Laurie. He was now officially, the strongest man in the world. He looked at the Cairo audience one last time, bowed to all of them, and waved as he headed for the back. It took the better part of 5 minutes for the Magnus chant to die down (according to Jeanie, who was amongst the crowd trying to hype up the next act). When the noise was as close to gone as it was going to get, Joe walked back out with his megaphone:

" _Ladies and gentlemen, you have just witnessed history in the making. But the circus is always a 2-edged sword. Presenting for your viewing pleasure, RICKETY BLADE RICK!"_

Rick walked out to a crowd that was half-applauding, half covering their eyes in fear for Rick's safety. It was a response that Rick was used to, as he knew that his act wasn't for everyone (and children probably shouldn't watch anyway). He did a quick last-minute inspection of the blade of his sword and changed his posture to be straighter. After a few deep breaths, he lifted the sword as high as he could and inserted it into his mouth. It was a little harder to shove the sword down his throat than the first Cairo show, but he knew from experience not to force the blade too hard, as it would tear things inside of him. The blade slowly going inside actually added to the dramatic effect for the audience, and once the sword was all the way inside (all 65 centimetres of it), the crowd applauded (well, the ones who could stomach watching it anyway). Ringmaster Joe walked back out, megaphone in hand ready to address the audience:

" _And now folks, the rotation."_

Rick gave Joe the thumbs up, grabbed the sword's handle with both hands and twisted it counter-clockwise. This part actually went more smoothly than in rehearsal, and he even felt confident enough to bend over and pull the sword out himself (usually he called on an audience member to pull it out for him). Some of the crowd knew that he was changing this aspect of his performance, and applauded louder in appreciation once the blade was out.

" _Ladies and gentlemen, Rickety Blade Rick."_ announced Joe, once he saw that Rick was OK. Rick took a bow for the crowd, sword in hand.

" _For our next performer..."_ began Ringmaster Joe. Megan shook her head from the backstage area, and held up 2 fingers.

" _Apologies folks, our next performerS..."_ continued Joe, looking at Megan as she made a series of gestures, implying that Megan's new partner...had 2 heads? Joe nodded, getting it.

" _Will perform a trick so rarely performed, that more than half who have tried...have not survived. Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome the amazing Megatini and her new assistants, Fabio and Lucas, the conjoined twins!"_

Megan walked out first, alone. Fabio/Lucas was close behind, pushing a wheeled box tall enough to hold a human being, but appeared to be divided into 3 compartments. Megan asked for Joe's megaphone, and he readily handed it to her.

" _Tonight, I am going to attempt to saw conjoined twins into 3 pieces. A trick that no one has even rehearsed with conjoined twins, and has a 75% failure rate even with a normal victim...I mean sawing recipient. Mr. Ammuri...and Mr. Ammuri, would you both please be so kind as to get in my box?"_

Fabio and Lucas nodded and Megan opened the box for them to walk into. Surprisingly, the box actually was wide enough for both Fabio and Lucas to fit inside (barely). There was a hole at the top that was normally reserved for the face of whoever was inside followed by 2 holes in the middle for the hands. But under these circumstances, you just saw half of each of Fabio's and Lucas's faces (and 1 hand of each of them). Megan took her handcuffs out of her pocket and cuffed Fabio and Lucas' wrists together. Once they were locked in place, Megan asked for Joe's megaphone, to which he obliged.

" _Now they can't escape my box, HAHAHA!"_

Megan then handed Joe back his megaphone and grabbed a large, rectangular blade and showed it to the audience. After teasing Fabio and Lucas for a few moments, Megan shoved the blade into the slot by their sternum. Fabio and Lucas screamed to add to the drama, then shouted "We're OK, we think." to the crowd to re-assure them. Megan nodded in satisfaction, and grabbed a second blade (identical in appearance to the first one). The second slot was located by their thighs, and Megan wasted no time in shoving the blade in.

" _And now the hard parts: Pulling out their middle section and putting it back in again without killing them."_ announced Joe.

Megan nodded and grabbed a handle in the middle of the trunk. She struggled to pull, but she got the mid-section out. After leading the audience in counting to 10, she pushed the mid-section back in. Fabio and Lucas then passed out...or worse. Joe was pissed:

" _GREAT GOING MEGATINI, WHERE AM I GOING TO FIND ANOTHER SET OF CONJOINED TWINS?"_

Megan opened the trunk, Fabio and Lucas walked out, perfectly fine. The crowd gave Megan a standing ovation. Joe for one, was relieved that they were acting for dramatic effect (even though he wasn't). After Joe determined that he was not going to have a heart attack from the stress that Megan and the twins were causing him, he raised the megaphone up to his lips:

" _Thank you for having a successful trick, Megatini. I only hope that these next 2 are just as successful. Please welcome the Knife-throwing James Ford and his lovely assistant Miss Miriam._

Miriam was used to the semi-frequent catcall in her time working at the circus on the grounds that some men were completely perverted. Thankfully, no one misbehaved as she walked towards the wheel. James placed his collection of knives and other supplies on a small piece of black cloth on top of the sand approximately 10 metres in front of her. He then walked over and began helping her restrain herself on the wheel:

"Try not to get me killed. This isn't a rehearsal where you can get away with that sort of thing." asked Miriam, more than slightly nervous.

"Don't worry Miriam, you won't get cut on my watch, much less die." whispered James.

"Good, glad we got that settled." added Miriam sarcastically.

"OK, I have the last restraint tied up. Ready?" asked James, Miriam nodded. He made sure to give it as big a spin as he could so that it would continue spinning for the throwing of the 5 knives. He then took out a black scarf and waved for a little boy to come over, the boy obliged.

"Hi, what's your name?" asked James.

"Amir, I came all the way from Saudi Arabia with my parents just to see you."

James was impressed, as that was a great distance "WOW, That's very far. I need you to do something for me Amir. Can you blindfold me and then spin me around in a circle a few times?"

Amir nodded, accepting the scarf and wrapping around James' eyes.

"Is that too tight, Mr. Ford?" asked Amir.

"No, I'm good. And please, call me James."

Amir nodded (before realizing that James couldn't see his nodding), and started spinning James around as best he could.

"Just tell me when to stop, James." stated Amir.

"Oh no, you're the one who decides that."

Amir was momentarily confused, but played along. After a minute or so of continuous spinning, Amir stopped James, then positioned James so that he would be staring at Miriam spinning on the wheel directly (if not for the blindfold). The crowd went completely silent, out of respect.

"She's right in front, James. Good luck!"

"Thanks kid. Stay close and I'll get the crowd to cheer you afterwards. Unless I screw up, of course."

Miriam heard the entire chat.

"You're instilling me with a lot of confidence guys!" she shouted in terror as Amir carefully handed James his knives.

"Thank you again, here we go."

With James being right-handed, he decided not to try throwing with the left (although he did on occasion as a way of scaring Miriam and his previous assistants).

"The trick Amir, is to throw all 5 blades at once. If I miss Miriam, I will likely miss her with all 5. If I hit her with the first or even the second blade, the rest of them will put hopefully put out of her misery."

James took a deep breath and began throwing, there was no sweeter sound in the world the sound of a knife hitting the wheel...5 consecutive times (With no blood-curdling screams in between throws). The crowd roared as none of the blades were even close to cutting Miriam. James took off the blindfold, and raised Amir's hand.

"Keep it going for Amir, great job kid. You can sit down now."

Amir smiled and nodded and ran back towards his parents as James walked over to his wheel and unrestrained Miriam. She waved at the crowd with a huge grin on her face, and after she and James took a bow, they ran backstage together. Joe looked at Jeanie and pointed to the crowd:

"Halftime show, you're up again."

Jeanie nodded, put her red nose on and ran out to the crowd, slapping the hands of every child that she could (while simultaneously waddling like a penguin). There was not a single frown in the entire tent, otherwise she'd single them out and act even sillier (funny faces being the gold standard in her act). Joe was actually surprised when Jeanie was backstage so quickly.

"We've got all of them in the palm of our hands, I didn't even need to go out."

The whole circus cheered in response (but were drowned out by their own crowd). Joe was eager to summarize:

"Perfect first half, let's keep it going. Kate, get your cage and I'll introduce you."

Kate nodded and began some last minute stretches as Joe walked out. His megaphone was in the sand, large end on the bottom. He grabbed it and began brushing off the sand (eliciting some laughter from some of the crowd). He decided that playfully teasing his audience was the best way to keep the energy up for the second half. He spoke once he had has game plan in his mind:

"So how was that first half for you?"

The crowd resumed cheering.

"Wow, we're just getting warmed up and you guys are tired. You're ready to go home."

"NOOOOOOO!" the crowd screamed.

"...You guys sound tired to me."

"NOOOOOOO!"

"Let me hear you scream 'HECK NO, RINGMASTER JOE!'"

"HECK NO, RINGMASTER JOE!"

"OK, we'll keep going. Make some more noise for Miss Bendy, The high point of hypermoblie joints, CONTORTIONIST KATE!"

It was a cage normally reserved for medium sized animals. 78 cubic centimetres that could be closed from the inside via a small piece of off-white string, with metal bars set every 10 centimetres apart both vertically and horizontally (with the slightest amount of rust spots visible to those in the audience who were looking hard enough). Kate stepped inside the box and (for some strange reason) waved to the crowd. The lower half of her body was the easy part, with her on her knees (which were slightly apart) and her posterior sitting on her heels. The hard part was intentionally dislocating her shoulders, elbows and wrists. She bent so that her head was almost between her knees (with her face facing the crowd). Kate then took deep breaths, knowing that the hard part was coming. As a force of habit, she put out the right shoulder first (the pop was audible to the first 2 rows, who all winced in pain at the same time). The habit came from Kate being right-handed, as she popped out the elbow, then her wrist (neither of which were quite as loud as the shoulder). She positioned her now more or less dead right arm behind her back as the pain began to stack inside Kate's mind. After a few more deep breaths, she popped out her left shoulder (which actually made a louder noise that it normally did, something Kate was not expecting at all). The pain was now so bad that she couldn't hear the crowd gasp in fear. Feeling an urge to speed things up, she quickly popped out her left elbow and wrist. Once both arms were behind her back, she began to frantically feel around for the string as each movement hurt Kate more. Within 30 seconds she grabbed the string and closed the lid on top of her. Joe walked out and analyzed her cage:

"And with only 2-3 centimetres to spare. Give contortionist Kate a big hand."

The crowd applauded as Joe pulled up the lid (as Kate felt the string leave her hands, that was her cue to start putting her joints back into place). With each one back in its' proper place, the pain lessened to a dull ache once all of them were back in their sockets (an ache that she was used to, and she knew it would be gone in a few minutes, an hour at the most). She hopped out of her cage, took 1 bow, grabbed her cage and headed backstage. Gloria approached her first:

"What went wrong?" she asked, more or less already knowing the answer.

"They all went out too far, I don't know how they got back in to be honest with you."

"...Presenting to you, the psychic dame of Ottawa...GLORIA GARBUIO."

"I gotta go. Are you going to be alright?"

Kate nodded, Gloria abruptly left. She walked out, waving to the crowd (seeing Omar, the photographer in the crowd as a normal spectator). Joe still had the megaphone in hand:

"Now who dares learn about their future? Who will step up and be read by Miss Garbuio?"

Joe noticed Omar too, and went with it.

"A-ha, the greatest photographer in the city of Cairo...MISTER OMAR!"

The crowd applauded (tentatively, as many were afraid that mind reading was the work of the pharaohs) as Omar walked towards them. He smiled as he shook Joe's hand.

"Pleasure to see you again." he stated sincerely.

"Likewise, go on over to Gloria and she'll do the rest." stated Joe as he headed backstage. Gloria bowed to him, to which he reciprocated.

"How...how does this work, exactly?" asked Omar, a bit shy.

"We need to hold hands. Images from your past and most likely future flood my brain like a tidal wave. I'll need a moment to sort them out and say them back to you. Are you ready?"

Omar nodded, but when they joined hands, Gloria didn't see Omar's past or future. In point of fact, she saw a different (almost inhuman) Omar altogether:

" _It's affecting the whole multiverse, Mr. Mawson. We've already lost one Doctor Who timeline, several Marvel timelines, half of the Tolkien tales. Over 200 worlds altogether, I came against the wishes of some of our brethren to see if you were affected (which you obviously are) and to see if you had any ideas."_

That was the first of only 2 images that Gloria saw, the other one was:

" _My name is Barash. And if it's all the same to you, I'd like to take my leave of you now as I was summoned to assess damage on the other worlds of the mutiverse while we were in mid-transit."_

Gloria had no earthly way to interpret what she had just seen (although she suspected that Olivia might be seeing visions like this, and probably COULD interpret them correctly for reasons that she didn't know or understand). She was at a complete loss for words, but knew that she had to come up with SOMETHING:

"You were recently a voice of reason in a major crisis." Gloria got out, barely loud enough for the silent crowd to handle.

"Why yes I was. The Nile had a strange tidal wave yesterday and I organized some of the town to make a dam made out of bags of sand. I wonder if it had anything to the new pyramids that came out of the ground from the pharaohs."

Gloria was terrified to learn that their trip to the pyramids had...other consequences, but somehow remained silent.

"And you're going to use your middle name at a business meeting within a week."

"...Yes. I do use my middle name in business meetings sometimes. A lot of Egyptians observe that tradition."

Gloria was quick to retort "But you only do it for people that you don't like."

Omar's eyes widened "...You're absolutely right."

The crowd resumed its' applause as Gloria smiled and said "Thank you for volunteering. GIVE IT UP FOR OMAR!"

She and Omar bowed once more, then Omar bowed at Joe as he emerged from backstage, megaphone in hand:

"Mr. Phelps, please return to the front for our next performer who will attempt to juggle 13 balls at once. Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome DAVID FLANNAGAN!"

Normally someone would come out with David, either holding his bag of balls or encouraging him as he was juggling. Tonight though, was a rare exception. He walked out alone, soaking in the admiration of the crowd's cheers. It seemed like an eternity to David before he reached Joe and Mr. Phelps. Handshakes were exchanged all around:

"Good luck, Mr. Flannagan." was all that Joe needed to say.

"Thank you, my ringmaster. Mr. Phelps, do you have a timepiece?"

"I do. Mr. Pauletich, would you please be so kind as to hold the megaphone while I make an announcement?"

"Of course." said Joe as he nodded. It took him all of 2 seconds to oblige. Mr. Phelps took something out of his pocket before he addressed the audience:

"Ladies and gentleman, this is a stopwatch custom made by the Swiss army that has been enhanced in accuracy by the latest in magnetic technology. I will start the timing when the 13th ball enters the air, and will not stop until Mr. Flannagan either drops a ball or the second hand reaches 60 seconds. Also, my employers already know this but I'll go public with it now: This is my last ever record attempt to supervise. After tonight, I'm heading home to London, submitting my final report, and retiring after travelling the world for Guinness for 35 years. So no pressure, Mr. Flannagan but I kind of want my last 2 record attempts to be successful ones."

"I'll try not to let you down, gentlemen." replied David.

"Mr. Phelps, could you look after my juggler and megaphone? I have some business to attend to." asked Joe. Mr. Phelps nodded and waved him away. The ringmaster did truly regret that he had to turn over control of the show to someone else, but Laura had signalled for him to help Tyrone and a few others quietly set up the cannon for launch as it was the penultimate act of the show (next). It was quite a challenge to set up a 16 pound cannon so silently that the crowd didn't notice, but the balls in the air provided ample distraction for the audience, especially once the 13th ball was up in the air:

"OK. I've pressed the button. Can Mr. David Flannagan keep all 13 going without a drop?" asked Mr. Phelps. The crowd remained relatively silent, oblivious to another exchange of dialogue on the other end of the tent:

"Come on guys, push. I can't do it all by myself." exclaimed Tyrone.

"OK. We're in place. Olivia, take the metre stick that I gave you and measure 15 metres. That's where Laura has to stand to take her shot." requested Joe, who gave her the measuring job to minimize the chance of further strain to her shoulder.

"Got it." whispered Olivia as she began drawing an "X" with her right index finger once her measurement was complete. Meanwhile, back at the juggling...

"5...4...3...2...1...HE'S DONE IT! MR. FLANNAGAN'S DONE IT! HE'S THE FIRST PERSON EVER TO JUGGLE 13 BALLS IN THE AIR SIMULTANEOUSLY!"

The crowd erupted as David F. took his bows, even the rest of his circus clapped.

"Go home to London sir, enjoy your retirement." said David to Mr. Phelps.

"Congratulations, Mr. World Record Holder." replied Mr. Phelps. And with a last handshake, Mr. Phelps was gone (he wasn't even going to stay for the last 2 acts, which David F. And Joe understood as he was probably taking the late night steamship to head back to Europe). It didn't matter though, as the megaphone was left behind for Joe to pick up.

"Amazing David, just simply amazing."

David bowed, and headed for the back. Joe saw through the tent that the moon was higher up than it was at the end of the first show, he took that as a sign to get through the rest of the show a little more quickly.

"And now we go from 13 little balls...to 1 big one. Ladies and gentlemen, the human shield, LAURA BRADLEY!"

Laura came out with the 16 pound cannon ball by herself (as she didn't want to trouble the rest of the circus any further). The swell of muzzle (where one loads the cannonball) was only 1 metre above the sand, so loading it wasn't too difficult (the gunpowder had been loaded before the first act went on). The hard part was lighting the cannon and making it back to Olivia's "X" in time. Then she saw it:

"Oh great, the fuse is long enough." she thought to herself as she took a match out of her pocket. Upon lighting it, she ran like hell to the X. She made it with...

...BANG!

...3 seconds to spare. It hit Laura just above the belly, knocking her to the ground. Joe ran out, fearing for the worst (as just above the belly was too high). Laura was standing up before he reached her.

"GIVE IT UP FOR LAURA!" shouted Joe, not missing a beat.

"Don't worry Joe, I'm alright." Laura whispered.

"I know." he replied as she headed for the back. It came time for Joe to break a few of the fan's hearts:

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages. Earlier today, our trapeze girl suffered an injury severe enough where despite her determination, I cannot in good conscience allow her to perform tonight, so thank you very much for coming and goodnight..."

"OH LIKE HELL YOU WON'T LET ISAAC AND I GO ON!"

Joe was stunned as Olivia marched out towards him (with Isaac slightly behind her), he didn't think that she could've ever been that pissed at anyone. She actually snatched the megaphone out of Joe's hands. Joe knew why she was angry, as he had told Gloria that he would let her and Isaac go on.

"Yes audience, I admit it: I did dislocate my arm earlier today during practice but if any of you have come here that know me, you know that...well...I shouldn't be this...engaging with the audience. Your fine city, opened me."

The entire crowd gasped, then went "Awe"

"And when you opened me, I realized that...we don't have much time on this world, on any world. Yes, I subscribe to the idea that there are other worlds. And we tend to regret the things that we don't do more than the things that we did. Ringmaster Joe, you would be doing Cairo...no...ALL OF AFRICA AND ACCORDING TO JAMES, PART OF ASIA AS WELL...a greater disservice to not let Isaac and I go on then you would if you did let us go on."

The entire crowd chanted "LET HER TRY!" repeatedly until Joe relented. Thankfully, the net had not been taken down since the rehearsal.

"Need the code words?" asked Isaac to Olivia.

"No. I can function without any tricks now, but thank you."

In less than 2 minutes, Isaac was hanging upside down from the left trapeze (ready to catch) and Olivia was on the board, holding the right trapeze firmly in both hands. For Olivia, this was the moment that she dreamed about since she thought of the possibility of coming out of her shell. Olivia waited until Isaac was the farthest away from her that he could be in his swinging. That was the moment she knew to be the "sweet spot" to jump off of her board, fall downward, swing up, let go, twist 5 degrees for every 3 degrees of flip, extend her arms and grab Isaac as soon as she felt flesh. And all of this within approximately 4 seconds.

"Here I come." shouted Olivia.

Her timing, jump, descension, ascension, release and twist/flip were technically flawless...

...And Isaac caught her just fine (and no pain from Olivia's shoulder whatsoever, even in the catch). The crowd somehow reached its' loudest volume ever, happy that Olivia was caught without further injury (or worse). She even landed on the net safely. She fell to her knees, in tears.

"Are you alright?" shouted Joe.

"Yes, I'm alright..." she replied, then took a moment to reflect on what she had just said. "I'm actually alright."

Chapter 6: Gambling like the Pharaohs, Part 2

Rick opened the case of poker chips, as the tables and chairs had already been set up for the evening's game. It was the same case used by the normies for Pot-Limit 5 card draw 2 nights earlier, but the freaks play a slightly different game than them. Fabio/Lucas and Laurie (being Rick's roommates) asked "Did Jeanie hit the club downstairs tonight?"

Rick looked over at them and nodded "We play the no-limit version of the game that the normies play. We'll still have a 2-table game, don't worry."

 _Knock Knock hello? Anybody home?_

"That'll be Kate, would you get that Laurie?" asked Rick.

"Of Course." she replied. Laurie was quick about walking over, opening it 3 seconds after Rick asked her to get the door.

"Hey, are you guys ready yet?" asked Kate as she rotated her wrists to re-set them (and minimize the pain) after the show.

"Just about, come on in." replied Laurie who opened the door wider.

"Need any help Rick?" asked David K. Who was now at the doorway with Laura

"No thanks guys, come on in though." replied Rick.

The door was kept open, as Laura was carrying a table (having been requested to do so months ago when their game went beyond 6 players for the first time).

"I guess that I make it a full table tonight." she announced as she entered, closing the door behind her.

"Yes, Gloria and Tyrone will spill us over to 2 tables of 4." replied Rick.

"So no 7th player rule tonight?" asked David K.

"Unless either the fortune teller or the strongman back out at the last minute, then no it won't be necessary." replied Rick as he got out individual stacks of 100 for each player.

 _Knock Knock!_

"And that'll be them." announced Rick.

"I'll get it." responded David K. He hopped from sitting on the bed closest to the window and headed back to the front door. Sure enough, there were Gloria and Tyrone waiting to allowed in, to which David K. Obliged.

"The black viking is here...to take all of your money." declared Tyrone.

"Please. The only way any of you have a chance is because I have to turn my third eye off for the duration of the game." replied Gloria.

"You're damn right, we're never making that mistake again." replied Rick as he began his opening announcement: "Our game that we freaks play is called No-Limit 5 card draw high. The game is typically played 6 people per table with a button moving around the table that establishes who the dealer is with 2 forced bets called 'blinds'. The person 1 seat to the left of the dealer is called the 'small blind' while the person 1 seat to the left of the small blind is called the 'big blind'. Each player is dealt 5 cards face down in front of them and players have the option to call, raise or fold their hands in sequence beginning with the person to the left of the big blind. Then there is a draw phase where players that are still in the hand have a choice to exchange cards that they don't need. Questions?"

The other 7 players shook their heads, as they were all a tad annoyed at the announcement that Rick made every single game. Rick continued "We also have the option of 'standing pat' which means not draw any cards at all. Another round of betting ensues, followed if needed by a showdown where the best 5-card high hand wins the pot. And no-limit literally means no-limit. You can bet whatever chips that you have in front of you at any given time."

Tyrone nodded "So 30 Egyptian pounds buy-in?" he asked.

Rick nodded and replied "Yes sir. We always play with the currency of where we're performing. We also play freeze-out rules so when you're eliminated, you can't buy back in. Joe did give everyone their take of the profits from the show tonight, right?"

Everyone nodded as they threw Egyptian pound notes onto the table. Rick collected and counted all of it.

"1st place pays 180, 2nd place pays 60. 1st eliminated has to act as the wake up call for the entire circus, including the normies who aren't playing this evening." he announced.

"Blinds start at 1-2?" asked Kate.

"Indeed they do." declared Rick as he handed out the stacks of chips to everyone.

"How do we decide seating arrangements tonight?" asked Laurie.

Rick thought about it for a moment before answering "I'll give everyone 1 card face up. Highest card gets Table 1, seat 1. 2nd highest gets Table 2, seat 1. Once seating is determined, I'll get the 2nd deck of cards out and each table can then deal out 1 card face up with the highest card getting the dealer button first."

He began handing out cards after a few shuffles of the deck: David K. got the 6 of Clubs, Fabio/Lucas got the 5 of Diamonds, Gloria got the 4 of Diamonds, Kate got the 9 of Clubs, Laura got the 7 of Diamonds, Laurie got the Queen of Diamonds, Tyrone got the 9 of Diamonds and Rick took the 6 of Diamonds. The table and seating were arranged as follows:

Table 1 (From seat 1 to seat 4): Laurie, Kate, Rick, Fabio/Lucas

Table 2 (From seat 1 to seat 4): Tyrone, Laura, David K, Gloria

Rick handed Tyrone a second deck of cards for table 2, then handed the original deck to Laurie as both she and Tyrone were seat 1 of their respective tables. Rick then took his seat and announced "Splash the decks to determine who the button is, please?"

For Table 1, Kate pulled the Ace of Diamonds (which made the other 3 puling cards almost a moot point) but Laurie pulled a 2 of Spades, Rick pulled an otherwise very respectable King of Spades and Fabio/Lucas pulled a 4 of Hearts. While at Table 2, Laura pulled the King of Clubs, David K. The 7 of Spades, Gloria the 2 of Hearts and Tyrone pulled the 6 of Diamonds.

"Woo-hoo!" exclaimed Laura.

"Remind me again why we don't make Fabio and Lucas play as 2 separate players?" asked David K.

"Oh god, here we go again." mumbled Tyrone, having heard this question asked every single game...by David K.

"Because they're not far enough apart to not look at the others cards." replied Rick, a tad annoyed at the question himself.

Level 1, Table 1 = 1-2 Blinds, All Stacks Even.

Hand #1 began with Laurie quietly folding the 9/8 of Hearts, King of Spades, 5 of Diamonds and the 3 of Clubs from under the gun, Kate announcing "Fold." with the 10/4/2 of Diamonds, the 8 of Spades and the 6 of Hearts on the Button, Rick quietly calling from the Small Blind with the Queen/5 of Hearts, the 6/3 of Spades and the 6 of Clubs while Fabio/Lucas simultaneously knocked the table three times, indicating a check from the Big Blind with the Ace/9 of Spades, King of Hearts, Jack of Diamonds and the Jack of Clubs.

"My first draw, huh? OK, I'll take 3 cards." announced Rick as he pitched the Queen/5/3 into the discard pile and received the Jack of Spades and the 8/7 of Clubs in exchange.

"And 3 cards for us, please." replied Fabio as he pitched the Ace/King/9 into the discard pile and received the 9/4 of Clubs and the 2 of Spades in exchange.

"Your option, Rick." whispered Kate

Rick went into the tank, thinking:

" _Lucas sunk his head, as if he's ashamed of their hand. But he and Fabio have burned me with this trick before. In fact, I'm not going to bet into him at all. If he bets, I might raise but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it."_

"I check." announced Rick.

"Check." declared Fabio.

"Time to show your cards, gentlemen." announced Kate, as she was the dealer this hand.

"I've got a pair of 6's. If you can beat that, the pot's yours." announced Rick as he turned his hand face up.

"We've got a pair of Jacks." replied Lucas as he turned his hand face up and scooped the pot of 4.

"I've seen worse hands win." mumbled Laurie.

Hand #2 began with Kate announcing "Call." with the 10/6 of Clubs, 10/3 of Spades and the 5 of Hearts from under the gun, Rick announcing "Call." with the 8/7/5 of Clubs, the Kings of Diamonds and the King of Hearts on the Button, Fabio/Lucas quietly calling from the Small Blind with the Ace/King of Spades, the Ace/Queen of Clubs and the 3 of Hearts while Laurie knocked the table twice, indicating a check from the Big Blind with the Queen/9 of Hearts, 9/6 of Spades and the 3 of Diamonds.

"Yay, a family pot." shouted Kate in excitement.

"Our first draw? OK, I'll take 3 cards." announced Lucas as he pitched the King/Queen/3 into the discard pile and received the Ace of Diamonds, Jack of Clubs and the 7 of Spades in exchange (making a three of a kind).

"And 3 cards for me, please." replied Laurie as she pitched the Queen/6/3 into the discard pile and received the 8/4 of Spades and the King of Clubs in exchange.

"3 cards for me as well, please." declared Kate as she pitched the 6/5/3 into the discard pile and received the 8/7 of Diamonds and the 4 of Hearts in exchange.

"Oh sweet, I get to draw last this time. I'll take 3 cards too." exclaimed Rick as he pitched the 8/7/5 and received the Queen of Diamonds, Jack of Spades and the 6 of Hearts.

"Your options, twins." declared Kate.

Fabio went into the tank, thinking:

" _Lucas may disagree with me but, I think our 3 Aces are more than enough to win. Even if we missed our draw, we'd still have the hand. Surely 1 of the other 3 players wants to bet, let's set up a trap."_

"Check." declared Fabio.

"I check." replied Laurie.

"Check." added Kate.

"I check." announced Rick.

"Time to show your cards, gentlemen." announced Kate.

"We've got 3 Aces." replied Lucas as he turned his hands face up.

"Beats my pair of 9's." announced Laurie as she threw her hand into the muck.

"And my pair of 10's." added Kate as she folded her hand face down.

"Take it." said Rick as Fabio took the pot of 8.

"Nice set you've got there." announced Kate, trying to get a laugh out of a dirty joke, it didn't work at either of the 2 tables.

Hand #3 began with Rick announcing "Raise, 6 Total." from under the gun with the Queen/6 of Diamonds, Jack/6 of Spades and the Jack of Hearts, Fabio/Lucas quietly folding the Button with the Queen/10/2 of Spades, King of Diamonds and the 4 of Hearts, Laurie announcing "I fold." from the Small Blind with the 7/4/3 of Diamonds, King of Spades and the 10 of Clubs while Kate shook her head as she whispered "Not even worth defending my blind, I fold." while she tossed her King/Queen of Hearts, 8 of Diamonds, 7 of Spades and the 4 of Clubs. Rick merely shrugged as he raked in his pot of 9.

"At least Fabio and Lucas didn't take 3 pots in a row on us." offered Kate.

"It's still early." replied Laurie.

Hand #4 began with Fabio/Lucas announcing "I fold." with the Ace/9/6 of Clubs and the 4/3 of Diamonds from under the gun, Laurie announcing "Call." with the King/10 of Diamonds, the Ace of Hearts, 10 of Clubs and the 2 of Spades on the Button, Kate quietly calling from the Small Blind with the King/5 of Hearts, the 8 of Spades, 5 of Clubs and the 2 of Diamonds while Rick knocked the table three times, indicating a check from the Big Blind with the 4/2 of Hearts, and the 7's of Diamonds, Spades and Clubs.

"My first draw? OK, I'll take 3 cards." announced Kate as she pitched the King/8/2 into the discard pile and received the King of Clubs, Queen of Hearts and the 8 of Diamonds in exchange.

"2 cards for me, please." replied Rick as he pitched the 4/2 into the discard pile and received the 7 of Hearts and the King of Spades in exchange (Making a QUAD!)

"3 cards for me, please." added Laurie as she pitched the Ace/King/2 into the discard pile and received the Jack of Hearts, 9 of Diamonds and the 5 of Spades in exchange.

"Your option, contortionist." whispered Lucas.

Kate went into the tank, thinking:

" _I need to go all-in here, in order to make a statement that I can't be pushed around. If I bust out first, I'm pretty sure I can find something (or more to the point, someone) to help me sleep."_

"I'm All-in. I believe I have 97 in chips" added Kate.

Rick went into the tank, thinking:

" _OK, I've mathematically crippled the deck AND I'm being bet into? I guess I'll smooth call, even though Laurie still has yet to act behind me. Who knows? She might overcall."_

"I Call." announced Rick.

"And...I'm out." replied Laurie.

"Time to show your cards, guys." announced Fabio/Lucas.

"I was bluffing, I just have a pair of 5's." replied Kate as she turned her hand face up.

"Four 7's." said Rick as he turned his hand face up. The entire table lowered their jaws in complete shock. Table 2 even paused their hand to look, and upon seeing it, a standing ovation ensued.

"Guess I'm heading to the club to dance myself to sleep. Good night everyone" announced Kate.

"Sorry Kate." replied Rick sarcastically as he raked in his pot of an even 200 in chips. Kate waved it off, saying nothing.

"Goodnight, Kate." added Laurie.

"Yes, goodnight Kate." replied Fabio and Lucas simultaneously.

Stacks for Table 1: Rick – 200, Fabio – 103, Laurie – 97

Level 2, Table 2 = 2-4 Blinds. Stacks for the table: Laura – 103, Gloria – 101, David K. – 99, Tyrone – 97

Hand #1 began with Tyrone announcing "I fold." from under the gun with the King/8 of Hearts, Jack of Spades, 9 of Clubs and the 3 of Diamonds, Laura quietly raising to 12 total from the Button with the Ace/King of Spades, 10 of Diamonds, 9 of Hearts and the 3 of Clubs, David K. announcing "I fold." from the Small Blind with the Ace/Queen of Diamonds, 7/5 of Hearts and the 6 of Spades while Gloria tossed her Jack/8 of Diamonds, Queen of Hearts, 6 of Clubs and the 3 of Spades from the Big Blind. Laura merely shrugged as she raked in her pot of 18.

"And I was bluffing." declared Laura.

"No you weren't." replied Tyrone.

"No you weren't." added David K.

"You were bluffing with the best hand." announced Gloria. Laura was going to complain about Gloria using her "gift" but decided not to. After all, the hand had already concluded.

Hand #2 began with Laura quietly folding from under the gun with the Jack/2 of Spades, 10/3 of Diamonds and the 9 of Hearts, David K. Announcing "Raise, 12 total." from the Button with the Jack/6 of Diamonds, Jack of Hearts, 7 of Clubs and the 3 of Spades, Gloria announcing "I fold." from the Small Blind with the 7/2 of Diamonds, King of Spades, Ten of Clubs and the 6 of Hearts while Tyrone declared "Screw that." and tossed his Ace/Queen/7 of Spades and the 6/4 of Clubs. David K. merely smiled as he raked in his pot of 18.

"And I was willing to draw with that hand." declared David K.

"I wasn't" replied Tyrone.

"Neither was I." added Laura.

"Another bluffing with the best hand wins scenario." announced Gloria. David K. Glared at her, not impressed.

Hand #3 began with David K. Saying "I'll take this hand off." as he folded the 10/7 of Hearts, 9 of Diamonds, 4 of Spades and the 2 of Clubs from under the gun. Gloria quietly folding the 10/4 of Clubs, 9/5 of Hearts and the 2 of Spades from the Button, Tyrone whispering "I call" from the Small Blind with the Ace/Queen of Spades, Queen/5 of Diamonds and the 6 of Hearts and Laura knocking the table three times, indicating a check from the Big Blind with the King/2 of Hearts, the Jack/6 of Clubs and the King of Spades.

"My first draw. 3 cards for me, please." declared Tyrone as he pitched the Ace/5/6 into the discard pile and received the 8/7 of Spades and the 4 of Hearts in exchange.

"I'll take 3 cards as well, please." replied Laura as she pitched the Jack/6/2 into the discard pile and received the King of Clubs and the Jack/10 of Diamonds in exchange (making 3 of a kind).

"Your option, Tyrone." whispered David K.

Tyrone went into the tank, thinking:

" _Well, thank god that Gloria's not in the hand. But my hand missed, and my...what did Aaron call it...spidey-sense...is telling me that I'm beat. I'll check it down and hope for the best."_

"I check." announced Tyrone.

"I check." replied Laura in a tone that suggested that she knew that betting was pointless.

"Time to show your cards." declared Gloria.

"Pair of Queens." announced Tyrone as he turned his cards face up.

"No good, I have 3 Kings." replied Laura as she presented her hand, then raked in her pot of 8.

"Nice hand." whispered David K.

"Too bad it didn't pull in more chips." added Gloria.

Hand #4 began with Gloria announcing "I raise, 12 total." with the 5/2 of Hearts, 4/3 of Diamonds and the 3 of Spades from under the gun. Tyrone quietly calling with the Ace of Hearts, 8/6 of Spades and the 6/5 of Diamonds from the Button, Laura whispering "I call" from the Small Blind with the Ace/Queen of Diamonds and the Ace/Jack/9 of Clubs and David K. folding the Big Blind with the Ace/Queen of Spades, the 8 of Diamonds, 6 of Hearts and the 4 of Clubs.

"You're the first draw, Laura." offered David K.

"I'll take 3 cards, please." replied Laura as she pitched the Queen/Jack/9 into the discard pile and received the 10 of Clubs, 7 of Spades and the 4 of Hearts in exchange.

"Just the 1 card for me, please." replied Gloria (which elicited a shock from both tables). She was momentarily confused as to why she said that (as she had a small open-ended straight draw), but pitched the extra 3 anyway and tried her best to not react when she received the 9 of Hearts in exchange.

"3 cards for me, please." declared Tyrone as he pitched the Ace/8/5 into the discard pile and received the King of Spades, Jack of Hearts and the 2 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Your option, Laura." whispered David K.

Laura went into the tank, thinking:

" _40 in the pot. I better bet half so that I don't scare both of them away. I think I'm good"_

"20." declared Laura.

"OK, I'm out." declared Gloria.

"I'm all-in. 77 altogether." announced Tyrone.

"I call." replied Laura instantly.

"Time to show your cards, guys." whispered David K.

"Pair of Aces." stated Laura as she turned her hand face up.

"Much better than my pair of 6's, at least I wasn't out before Kate." announced Tyrone as he turned his cards face up.

"Nice hand." whispered Gloria.

"Sorry Tyrone." added David K.

"No need, Mr. Kay. Good luck everyone, and congratulations Laura." said Tyrone as he walked out of the room with his head held high.

"Thank you Tyrone, and goodnight." responded Laura as she raked in her pot of 194.

Play stopped once Tyrone had exited the room. Once the tables were pushed together and everyone had their chip stacks in their hands, Rick announced "OK everyone, welcome to the final table. In the name of shaking things up, we will now have a re-draw for seating. I'll deal everyone 1 card face up. Highest card gets seat 1 (and the button), 2nd highest gets seat 2 (and the small blind), 3rd highest gets seat 3 (and the big blind) and so on...here we go."

Laurie got the King of Spades, Fabio/Lucas got the 4 of Spades, Laura got the 8 of Spades, David K. got the 9 of Spades, Gloria got the King of Hearts and Rick got the 5 of Diamonds. The Final Table seating and chip stacks were as follows:

Seat 1: Laurie – 103

Seat 2: Gloria – 83

Seat 3: David K. – 99

Seat 4: Laura – 218

Seat 5: Rick – 188

Seat 6: Fabio/Lucas – 90

Level 3, Final Table = 3-6 Blinds

Hand #1 began with Laura quietly folding the Queen/8/5 of Hearts, 3 of Spades and the 2 of Clubs from under the gun, Rick folding the Ace of Spades, the Queen/5 of Diamonds, 10 of Clubs and the 3 of Hearts, Lucas announcing "I call." from the cutoff seat with the Ace/9 of Diamonds, the King/9 of Clubs and the 7 of Spades, Laurie looking down at the Queen/Jack/6 of Spades, 7 of Clubs and the 4 of Diamonds while sitting in the Dealer's seat and exclaiming "No way." as she folded, Gloria announcing "Not even worth it for half price. I fold." with the Queen of Clubs, the 10 of Hearts, 6 of Diamonds and the 5/4 of Spades in the Small Blind. Finally, David K. Knocked the table three times, indicating a silent check from the Big Blind with the King/10 of Diamonds, King of Spades, Jack of Clubs and the 6 of Hearts.

"You're the first draw, David K." whispered Rick.

"3 cards for me, please." he replied. Pitching the Jack/10/6 into the discard pile, he received an 8 of Spades, 6 of Clubs and the 2 of Diamonds in exchange.

"3 cards for us too, please." added Fabio as he pitched the Ace/King/7 into the discard pile and received a 9 of Spades, 8 of Clubs and the 2 of Hearts in exchange (improving to three of a kind).

"Your option, firebreather." declared Rick.

David K. Went into the tank, thinking:

" _Fabio and Lucas looked at each other, they hit well on their draw."_

"I check." whispered David K.

Lucas went into the tank, thinking:

" _Crap, I think David K. Is onto us. Hopefully my check beats any chance of Fabio betting."_

"I check." announced Lucas.

"Damnit, you idiot. I wanted to value bet." replied Fabio, more than a little angry.

"Too late, verbal commitment is binding. Time to show your cards, gentlemen." announced Rick.

"Pair of Kings." replied David K. As he turned his cards face up.

"Trip 9's, we win." announced Fabio, who sighed as he collected his pot of 15 (knowing that it could've been a lot more). Gloria was about to make a comment that Mr. Kay would've folded anyway, but knew that she may draw a warning from Rick.

Hand #2 began with Rick quietly folding the King of Clubs, 7/6/3 of Hearts and the 5 of Spades from under the gun, Fabio quietly calling the Ace/King of Diamonds and the Queen/Jack/6 of Clubs, Laurie announcing "I fold." from the cutoff seat with the Ace/4/3 of Clubs and the Queen/8 of Spades, Gloria looking down at the King of Hearts, Queen/5/3 of Diamonds and the 7 of Spades while sitting in the Dealer's seat and shaking her head as she folded, David K. announcing "What the hell, I'll call." with the King of Spades and the 10/8/6/2 of Diamonds in the Small Blind. Finally, Laura knocked the table twice, indicating a silent check from the Big Blind with the Ace/Jack/6 of Spades, Jack of Diamonds and the 10 of Clubs.

"You're the first draw, David K." whispered Rick.

"Just 1 card for me, please." he replied (which elicited a few gasps). Pitching the King into the discard pile, he received a 9 of Clubs in exchange.

"3 cards for me, please." added Laura as she pitched the Ace/10/6 into the discard pile and received a Queen of Hearts, 9 of Diamonds and the 5 of Clubs in exchange.

Fabio went into the tank, thinking:

" _I know it's technically only a 1-way straight draw, but It's for the absolute best possible straight you can have._ _"_

"1 card for us, please." asked Lucas (who was apparently thinking the same thing) as he pitched the 6 into the discard pile and received a 7 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Your option, David K." whispered Gloria

"I check." whispered David K. (who only wanted his busted flush draw to be over).

"I check." replied Laura

Lucas went into the tank, thinking:

" _I smell a trap from Laura. I will deny her the satisfaction"_

"I check." announced Lucas.

"Time to show your cards, gentlemen and Laura." announced Rick.

"King High." replied David K. As he turned his cards face up.

"Pair of Jacks?" added Laura nervously as she turned her hand face up, not quite knowing if she was good or not.

"You're good Laura, that beats my Ace high." announced Fabio, who sighed as Laura collected her pot of 18.

"This game is too quiet." offered Laurie. No one disagreed with her.

Hand #3 began with Fabio quietly folding the King/Queen/2 of Hearts and the 10/4 of Spades from under the gun, Laurie announcing "I fold." while looking at the Ace/5 of Clubs, King of Diamonds, Jack of Spades and the 8 of Hearts, Gloria quietly folding the Jack/5 of Hearts, 9/6 of Spades and the 4 of Clubs from the cutoff seat, David K. Grinning and announcing "I'll raise, 18 total." from the Button with the Ace/9 of Diamonds, 10/9 of Clubs and the 9 of Hearts (making a three of a kind before the draw phase), Laura shaking her head and folding the Ace/10 of Hearts, Queen of Spades, Jack of Diamonds and the 6 of Clubs from the Small Blind while Rick just mumbled "Not worth defending." as he folded his Big Blind with the Queen/6 of Diamonds, 8/3 of Spades and the 2 of Clubs. David K. Clicked his tongue as he raked his pot of 27.

"That wasn't aimed at any of you in particular, I'm just upset at myself for being too aggressive is all. I should've just called with my trip 9's" announced David K.

"It's OK Gloria, I got this: None of us had anything." replied Rick.

"He's right." was all that Gloria felt that she could add to Rick's summary of the hand safely.

"I might have hit my gut-shot straight draw if you had only called so maybe it was best to raise it up." offered Laura.

"Oh the debates as to how to play a hand could wage on forever." replied Laurie.

"Indeed, can we please continue the game?" asked Fabio and Lucas simultaneously.

Hand #4 began with Laurie whispering "What the hell, I call." from under the gun with the Ace/5 of Clubs and the Ace/3/4 of Diamonds, Gloria quietly folding the King/10 of Diamonds and the Queen/3/2 of Clubs, David K. Announcing "I'll sit this one out." from the cutoff with the Queen/7/3 of Spades, the 8 of Diamonds and the 6 of Hearts, Laura quietly calling from the Button with the Queen/9 of Hearts, 9 of Clubs, 8 of Spades and the 7 of Diamonds. Rick shook his head in disgust, announcing "I'm out, even for half price." with the 10/5 of Hearts, the 9/2 of Diamonds and the 4 of Spades in the Small Blind while Lucas knocked the table three times, indicating a silent check with the Jack/9 of Spades, the 8/6 of Clubs and the 8 of Hearts in the Big Blind.

"Your draw, twinnies." whispered Rick.

"3 cards for us, please." stated Fabio as he pitched the Jack/9/6 into the discard pile and received the Ace of Spades, Jack of Hearts and the 10 of Clubs in exchange.

Laurie went into the tank, thinking:

" _I know it's an inside straight draw vs. A pair of Aces but I need to gamble with this hand."_

"Just 1 card for me, please." announced Laurie as she discarded 1 of her Aces and received a 2 of Hearts in exchange (thus filling her straight).

"And 3 cards for me, please." added Laura as she pitched the Queen/8/7 into the discard pile and received a King of Clubs, 10 of Spades and the 7 of Hearts in exchange.

"Your option, boys." stated Gloria to the conjoined twins.

"Check." whispered Lucas as Fabio knocked the table twice.

"Check." sighed Laurie, hoping to induce a bluff.

Laura went into the tank, thinking:

" _Nice try Laurie, I'm not betting into your...straight? Flush? I suppose it doesn't really matter as I'm beat either way."_

"I check." announced Laura.

"Time to show your cards, guys." whispered David K.

"We've got a pair of 8's." said Fabio as Lucas turned their hand face up.

"I have the wheel, Ace-5 straight." replied Laurie as she turned over her cards.

"Beats my pair of 9's, take it Laurie." whispered Laura as she threw her hand into the muck. Laurie smiled as she raked in her pot of 21.

"I thought Aaron was supposed to write you as a cheater." teased David K.

"Some other me that he wrote apparently told him that I cheated on something that he called Facebook but that was months ago." replied Laurie.

Hand #5 began with Gloria whispering "Raise. 18 total" from under the gun with the Ace/Jack/7/4 of Diamonds and the 5 of Hearts, David K. quietly folding the Queen/9/8 of Hearts, the 5 of Clubs and the 3 of Spades, Laura announcing "I'm not pulling a Laurie, I'm out." from the cutoff with the King/8 of Clubs, the 6 of Hearts, the 5 of Diamonds and the 4 of Spades, Rick quietly folding from the Button with the Ace/7 of Hearts, Jack/4 of Clubs and the 8 of Spades. Fabio nodded and called from the Small Blind with the Queen of Diamonds, the Queen of Spades, the 9/7 of Clubs and the 3 of Hearts while Laurie quietly folded the Big Blind with the King/10 of Spades, the 9/8 of Diamonds and the 4 of Hearts.

"Your draw, twinnies." whispered David K.

"3 cards for us, please." stated Fabio as he pitched the 9/7/3 into the discard pile and received the Jack/7/6 of Spades in exchange.

"Just 1 card for me, please." announced Gloria as she discarded her 5 and received a 6 of Clubs in exchange.

"Your option, boys." stated Laura to the conjoined twins.

"Check." whispered Lucas as Fabio knocked the table twice.

Gloria went into the tank, thinking:

" _No need to use my talent. My flush is busted and Fabio/Lucas know that they're good."_

"I check." announced Gloria.

"Time to show your cards, guys." whispered David K.

"Pair of Queens." said Fabio as Lucas turned their hand face up.

"Take it." whispered Gloria as she threw her hand into the muck. Lucas smiled as he raked in his pot of 42.

"Nice pull." declared Rick.

Hand #6 began with David K whispering "Raise. 18 total" from under the gun with the King/10/5 of Hearts and the 5/4 of Diamonds, Laura quietly calling with the Jack of Hearts, the 10/2 of Clubs and the 9/8 of Diamonds, Rick announcing "I'm out." from the cutoff with the King of Diamonds, the 8/6 of Spades and the 7/4 of Hearts, Lucas quietly calling from the Button with the King/9/3 of Clubs, Jack of Diamonds and the Jack of Spades. Laurie quietly folded the Small Blind with the Ace/8 of Clubs, the Queen/5 of Spades and the 9 of Hearts while Gloria quietly folded the Big Blind with the Ace/9 of Spades, the Jack/4 of Clubs and the 2 of Diamonds.

"Your draw, Mr. Kay." whispered Laurie.

"3 cards for me, please." stated David as he pitched the King/10/4 into the discard pile and received the King of Spades, 7 of Diamonds and the 10 of Hearts in exchange.

"Just 1 card for me, please." announced Laura as she discarded her 2 and received a Queen of Hearts in exchange (filling her open-ended straight draw).

"And 3 cards for us, please." asked Fabio as he pitched their King/9/3 into the discard pile and received the Ace/6 of Diamonds and 5 of Clubs in exchange.

"Your option, sir." stated Rick to the fire-breather.

"All in, 78 total." announced David K. In an effort to bully the table.

Laura went into the tank, thinking:

" _Sick. But he snapped off the twins already so there's no point in me raising."_

"I call." announced Laura.

"Too rich for our blood." announced Fabio as Lucas tossed their hand into the muck.

"Time to show your cards, guys." whispered Rick.

"Pair of 5's." said David K. as he turned his hand face up.

"No good, I have a Queen-High straight." declared Laura as she turned he face up and raked in her pot of 219.

"Glad we folded." announced Fabio and Lucas simultaneously.

"I had to try, congratulations Laura. Good luck everyone." announced David K. As he went around the table, shaking hands.

"Thanks, goodnight." replied Laura.

"Bye David." added Laurie.

"See you tomorrow." finished Rick, as David K. Had just left.

Chip stacks for the table: Laura 344 – 344, Rick – 179, Fabio – 112, Laurie – 109, Gloria – 56.

Level 4, Final Table = 4-8 Blinds.

Hand #1 began with Rick quietly calling from under the gun with the 10/8/2 of Clubs, 8 of Hearts and the 6 of Diamonds, Fabio announcing "Call." from the cutoff seat with the Ace/8 of Diamonds, King/3 of Clubs and the King of Hearts, Laurie quietly folding the Button with the Queen/5/3 of Spades, 9 of Diamonds and the 6 of Hearts, Gloria whispering "I fold." from the Small Blind with the Queen/5/4 of Clubs and the 10/2 of Spades while Laura knocked the table three times, indicating a silent check from the Big Blind with the Ace/Jack/9 of Clubs, the 9 of Hearts and the 3 of Diamonds.

"I believe that you have the first draw, Laura." whispered Laurie.

"3 cards for me, please." replied Laura as she pitched the Ace/Jack/3 into the discard pile and received the Queen/Jack of Hearts and the 6 of Clubs in exchange.

"3 cards for me too, please." stated Rick as he pitched the 10/6/2 into the discard pile and received the 7 of Hearts, the 7 of Spades and the 5 of Diamonds in exchange.

"And 3 cards for us as well, please." whispered Lucas as Fabio pitched the Ace/8/3 into the discard pile and received the Ace/5/4 of Hearts in exchange.

"Your option, Laura." stated Gloria.

Laura went into the tank, thinking:

" _My hand actually got worse on the draw. With 2 behind me, I'll just check and get it over with."_

"I check." announced Laura.

"Check." replied Rick, even though he suspected that his 2 pairs were good enough to win.

"We check." added Fabio.

"Time to show the cards, guys." declared Laurie.

"I just have a pair of 9's." announced Laura as she turned her cards face up.

"2 Pairs, 8's and 7's." replied Rick as he presented his hand face up.

"Beats our pair of Kings." added Lucas as he tossed his hand into the muck. Rick nodded as he raked in his pot of 28.

"A changing of the leaderboard in the works?" asked Gloria.

Hand #2 began with Fabio announcing "I'm out." from under the gun with the Queen/9/4 of Spades, 3 of Diamonds and the 2 of Clubs, Laurie quietly calling from the cutoff seat with the Ace of Spades, 9/5 of Hearts, 4 of Clubs and the 4 of Diamonds, Gloria announcing "Nope, I fold." from the Button with the King/4 of Hearts, 9 of Clubs, 8 of Spades and the 2 of Diamonds, Laura quietly calling from the Small Blind with the Ace/King/7 of Clubs, Ace of Hearts and the King of Spades while Rick knocked the table twice, indicating a silent check from the Big Blind with the King/10 of Diamonds, the Jack/10 of Clubs and the 2 of Hearts.

"I believe that you have the first draw, Laura." whispered Gloria.

"Just the 1 card for me this time, please." replied Laura as she pitched the 7 into the discard pile and received the 3 of Hearts in exchange.

"3 cards for me, please." stated Rick as he pitched the King/Jack/2 into the discard pile and received the Queen/6/5 of Clubs in exchange.

"3 cards for me as well, please." whispered Laurie as she pitched the Ace/9/5 into the discard pile and received the Jack of Hearts and the 6/2 of Spades in exchange.

"Your option, Laura." stated Gloria.

Laura went into the tank, thinking:

" _My hand actually got worse on the draw again, but I think this time I'm good enough. Still, there are 2 behind me, I'll just check and hope that I get bet into."_

"I check." announced Laura.

"Check." replied Rick, even though he suspected that his 2 pairs were good enough to win.

"And I check." added Laurie.

"Time to show the cards, guys." declared Fabio.

"2 pair, Aces and Kings." announced Laura as she turned her cards face up.

"Beats my pair of Tens." replied Rick as he threw his cards into the muck.

"And my pair of 4's, take it Laura." added Laurie as she tossed her hand into the muck. Laura shrugged as she raked in her pot of 24.

"Spoke too soon?" asked Gloria.

Hand #3 began with Laurie announcing "I will call." from under the gun with the Ace/3 of Clubs, King/Jack of Diamonds and the King of Hearts, Gloria quietly folding from the cutoff seat with the Jack/6/3 of Hearts, 7 of Spades and the 2 of Diamonds, Laura announcing "I call." from the Button with the Queen/10 of Hearts, 10 of Spades, 7 of Diamonds and the 4 of Clubs, Rick quietly folding from the Small Blind with the King/6/3 of Spades, 8 of Diamonds and the 7 of Clubs while Fabio knocked the table three times, indicating a silent check from the Big Blind with the Ace/4 of Hearts, the Jack of Spades and the 5/4 of Diamonds.

"I believe that you have the first draw, Lucas and Fabio." whispered Gloria.

"3 cards for us, please." replied Lucas as he pitched the Ace/Jack/5 into the discard pile and received the 9 of Clubs and the 8/2 of Spades in exchange.

"3 cards for me as well, please." whispered Laurie as she pitched the Ace/Jack/3 into the discard pile and received the Queen of Diamonds and the 8/5 of Hearts in exchange.

"3 cards for me too, please." stated Laura as she pitched the Queen/7/4 into the discard pile and received the Queen/4 of Spades and the 6 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Your option, Fabio and Lucas." stated Gloria.

Fabio went into the tank, thinking:

" _I think I'm screwed and I think people are catching onto my tells. I'll just check."_

"I check." announced Fabio.

"Check." replied Laurie (who thought her pair of Kings were good).

"And I check." added Laura.

"Time to show the cards, guys." declared Rick.

"Just a pair of 4's." announced Fabio as he turned his cards face up.

"Pair of Kings." replied Laurie as she threw her cards into the muck.

"Beats my pair of 10's, take it Laurie." added Laura as she tossed her hand into the muck. Laurie smiled as she raked in her pot of 28.

"Marginal hands seem to be enough to win for the most part this evening." offered Rick.

"Says the guy who had a quad." replied Gloria.

Hand #4 began with Gloria announcing "I Fold." from under the gun (while silently knowing that everyone had her beat) with the King/Jack of Clubs, Queen of Spades, the 7 of Hearts and the 6 of Diamonds, Laura quietly calling from the cutoff seat with the 9/6 of Spades, 5/2 of Clubs and the 5 of Hearts, Rick announcing "I call." from the Button with the 7/5 of Diamonds, 7 of Clubs, 4 of Spades and the 4 of Hearts, Lucas quietly calling from the Small Blind with the 10/8 of Spades, 8/4 of Diamonds and the 6 of Clubs while Laurie knocked the table three times, indicating a silent check from the Big Blind with the Ace/10/9 of Diamonds, the King of Spades and the 10 of Hearts.

"I believe that you have the first draw, Fabio and Lucas." whispered Gloria.

"3 cards for us, please." replied Lucas as he pitched the 10/6/4 into the discard pile and received the Ace/2 of Clubs and the 4 of Clubs in exchange.

"3 cards for me as well, please." whispered Laurie as she pitched the Ace/King/9 into the discard pile and received the Queen of Hearts, the 10 of Clubs and the 3 of Spades in exchange (making a three of a kind).

"3 cards for me too, please." stated Laura as she pitched the 9/6/2 into the discard pile and received the King of Diamonds, 9 of Clubs and the 7 of Spades in exchange.

"Just 1 card for me, please." added Rick as he pitched the 5 into the discard pile and received the Ace of Clubs in exchange

"Your option, Fabio and Lucas." stated Gloria.

Fabio went into the tank, thinking:

" _I think I'm screwed again going against three hands out of position. I'll just check and surrender if anyone bets into me."_

"I check." announced Fabio.

"Check." replied Laurie (who thought her set was good).

"And I check." added Laura.

"As do I, time to show the cards." declared Rick.

"Just a pair of 8's." announced Fabio as he turned his cards face up.

"Three 10's." replied Laurie as she threw her cards into the muck.

"Beats my pair of 5's." added Laura as she tossed her hand into the muck.

"And it beats my two pair 7's and 4's" offered Rick. Laurie breathed a sigh of relief as she raked in her pot of 32.

"That was...a little less marginal." replied Gloria.

Hand #5 began with Laura announcing "I Call." from under the gun with the Jack/6/3 of Hearts and the King/Jack of Spades, Rick quietly folding from the cutoff seat with the Queen of Clubs, 10 of Hearts, 8 of Diamonds and the 5/3 of Spades, Fabio announcing "I fold." from the Button with the Ace/8 of Spades and the 10/7/6 of Diamonds, Laurie announcing "I fold." from the Small Blind with the 8 of Clubs, the 6 of Spades, the 5/2 of Diamonds and the 4 of Hearts while Gloria knocked the table twice, indicating a silent check from the Big Blind with the King/9 of Diamonds, the King/7 of Clubs and the Queen of Spades.

"I believe that you have the first draw, Gloria." whispered Rick.

"3 cards for me, please." whispered Gloria as she pitched the Queen/9/7 into the discard pile and received the Ace of Diamonds, the Ace of Clubs and the 2 of Spades in exchange.

"3 cards for me as well, please." stated Laura as she pitched the King/6/3 into the discard pile and received the Jack of Diamonds, 10 of Spades and the 3 of Clubs in exchange (making a three of a kind).

"Your option, Gloria." stated Fabio.

Gloria went into the tank, thinking:

" _I'm short-stacked, time to gamble."_

"I bet 10." declared Gloria.

Laura looked at Gloria's chip stack and replied "I'm putting you all-in."

"I call, so match my last 34." announced Gloria. Laura silently obliged.

"Time to show your cards, ladies." declared Rick.

"Two pair, Aces and Kings." announced Gloria as she turned her cards face up.

"No good, I have three Jacks." replied Laura as she showed her cards.

"Wow, I'm out. Even I didn't see that one coming." whispered Gloria as Laura raked in her pot of 108.

"Well, down to 4. Goodnight Gloria." added Rick.

"Goodnight guys, well played Laura." replied Gloria.

"Goodnight Gloria." responded Fabio.

"Goodnight." added Laurie.

"Goodnight." said Lucas.

"Thanks Gloria, good night." added Laura as Gloria headed out the door.

Chip stacks for the table: Laura – 392, Rick – 179, Laurie – 141, Fabio/Lucas – 88

Level 5, Final Table = 5-10 Blinds.

Hand #1 began with Fabio announcing "Raise, 30 total." from under the gun with the King/9/8/5 of Diamonds and the 2 of Clubs, Laurie quietly folding from the Button with the Ace/10/4 of Spades and the Queen/5 of Clubs, Laura quietly folding from the Small Blind with the King of Clubs, the Jack/2 of Diamonds and the 7/6 of Hearts and Rick whispering "Not worth defending, I'm out." and folding the Ace of Diamonds, the King of Spades, the Jack/8 of Clubs and the 3 of Hearts in the Big Blind. Lucas smiled as he raked in their pot of 45.

"Were we stealing the blinds with the best hand?" asked Lucas. Each of the other 3 players at the table nodded in sequence.

Hand #2 began with Laurie announcing "Nope, I'm out." from under the gun with the Ace/Jack of Hearts, the King/3 of Spades and the 10 of Diamonds, Laura quietly raising to 30 from the Button with the Jack of Clubs, the 9/6 of Diamonds, the 9 of Spades and the 4 of Hearts, Rick quietly calling from the Small Blind with the King of Clubs, the King/Jack/2 of Diamonds and the 6 of Spades and Fabio whispering "Not worth defending, I'm out." and folding the Queen/9 of Hearts, the 7 of Spades and the 6/2 of Clubs in the Big Blind.

"I guess I'm the first to draw. I'll take 3 cards, please." declared Rick as he pitched the Jack/6/2 into the discard pile and received the Ace/8 of Diamonds and the 3 of Hearts in exchange.

"I'll take 3 cards as well, please." replied Laura as she pitched the Jack/6/4 into the discard pile and received the 5 of Diamonds, 4 of Spades and the 2 of Hearts in exchange.

"Your option, Rick." whispered Laurie.

Rick went into the tank, thinking:

" _Wow, are my Kings good? The way this game has been going, they probably are."_

"I check." announced Rick (hoping to induce a trap out of Laura).

"I check." replied Laura.

"Time to show your cards, guys." stated Lucas.

"I've got a pair of Kings." announced Rick as he turned his cards face up.

"You're good." replied Laura as she threw her hand into the muck. Rick shrugged as he raked in his pot of 70.

"Nice pull." declared Laurie.

Hand #3 began with Laura announcing "Fold." from under the gun with the Queen/7 of Clubs, the Jack/4 of Diamonds and the 5 of Hearts, Rick quietly folding from the Button with the Jack of Clubs, 9/6/4 of Spades and the 3 of Diamonds, Lucas announcing "Not even worth bluffing. Laurie, you get a walk this hand." from the Small Blind with the King/2 of Hearts, the 10 of Clubs and the 9/5 of Diamonds and Laurie whispering "Might as well look, even though I've already won the hand." and seeing the 10/8/7 of Hearts, the 8 of Clubs and the 2 of Diamonds in the Big Blind. Laurie smiled as she raked in her pot of 15.

"If any of you had raised, I would've folded" teased Laurie. Each of the other 3 players at the table took turns shaking their heads, knowing that she had a hand worth defending her Big Blind.

Hand #4 began with Rick announcing "Nope, I'm out." from under the gun with the King/4 of Diamonds, the 8/2 of Hearts and the 5 of Spades, Fabio quietly calling from the Button with the Ace/8/4/3 of Spades and the Queen of Diamonds, Laurie quietly calling from the Small Blind with the 10 of Diamonds, the 7/6 of Spades, 6 of Clubs and the 6 of Hearts (making a 3 of a kind before the draw phase) and Laura whispering "Let's take a draw" and checking the King/9 of Hearts and the 9/5/3 of Diamonds in the Big Blind.

"Your draw, Laurie." declared Rick.

"2 cards for me, please." whispered Laurie (Which elicited a gasp or two from the others as every draw up to that point was for either 1 or 3 cards) as she pitched the 10/7 into the discard pile and received the 6/2 of Diamonds in exchange (making a four of a kind).

"I'll take 3 cards, please." replied Laura as she pitched the King/5/3 into the discard pile and received the Queen of Spades, Jack of Diamonds and the 4 of Clubs in exchange.

"And I'll just take 1 card, please." asked Lucas as he pitched the Queen into the discard pile and received a 2 of Spades in exchange (making a flush).

"Your option, Laurie." whispered Rick.

Laurie went into the tank, thinking:

" _I've got a quad. Like Aaron once said, time to slowplay"_

"I check." announced Laurie (hoping to induce a trap out of Laura, or Fabio, or both).

"I check." replied Laura.

"We bet 15." stated Lucas.

Laurie needed a moment to size up the chip stack of the twins before announcing "Raise, 78 total."

"Screw that, I fold." declared Laura as she tossed her cards into the muck.

"I will call." replied Fabio.

"Time to show your cards, guys." whispered Rick.

"Quad Sixes." announced Laurie as she turned her cards face up.

"Beats my Ace-High Flush, I'm out of the game. Well played Laurie, good luck to you, Laura and Rick. Goodnight to all of you." replied Lucas as he turned his hand face up. Laurie smirked as she raked in her pot of 186.

"Goodnight." replied Rick.

"Goodnight boys." added Laurie.

"Night." finished Laurie as the twins left for the evening. This was partly his room so they knew that he would eventually be back for the evening.

Chip stacks for the table: Laura – 347, Laurie – 244, Rick – 209

They heard a flock of bats flying over the hotel, and an 85% full moon was overlooking Cairo...

...except that the moon was (for lack of a better word), blinking in and out of existence.

"That's just like what Olivia saw in the normies pot-limit game the other night" announced Laura. Laurie and Rick nodded, indicating acknowledgement and agreement. They all remembered their friend writing of similar things happening in his book about (ironically) poker.

"Maybe we should skip a few of the blind levels." suggested Laura.

"I'm OK with that." answered Laurie.

"It hurts me as I'm the short stack, but 10-20 blinds should be big enough to end the game relatively quickly while still giving me a fighting chance to win." stated Rick.

Level 6, Final Table = 10-20 Blinds.

Hand #1 began with Laurie quietly folding the Button with the Ace of Clubs, the King/7/2 of Diamonds and the 10 of Spades, Laura announcing "I raise, 60 total." from the Small Blind with the 9/3 of Hearts, the 6/4 of Diamonds and the 4 of Spades while Rick whispered "Not going to pot-commit me this easily, I fold." as he tossed the King/7 of Spades, the 10/4 of Hearts and the 9 of Diamonds into the muck from the Big Blind. Laura merely shrugged as she raked in her pot of 90.

"Damn, I was hoping to fold my way into the money." whispered Laurie.

Hand #2 began with Laura quietly folding the Button with the 9 of Hearts, the 6/4 of Clubs, 5 of Diamonds and the 2 of Spades, Rick announcing "Screw this. Laurie, you get a walk in the Big Blind this hand" from the Small Blind with the Queen/10 of Hearts, the 9 of Diamonds, the 7 of Clubs and the 2 of Spades while Laurie whispered "I'm still going to look, even though I've won the hand." as she saw the Ace of Hearts, the King/7 of Spades and the 6/4 of Diamonds from the Big Blind as she also raked in her pot of 30 with her left hand (while tossing her hand into the muck with her right hand).

"My Ace-High was good enough to win on its' own, wasn't it?" asked Laurie.

"For me, yes." replied Rick.

"Me too." added Laura.

Hand #3 began with Rick quietly folding the Button with the King/9/8 of Spades, the Jack of Clubs and the 6 of Diamonds, Laurie announcing "I call" from the Small Blind with the Ace/King/10/4 of Diamonds and the 7 of Spades while Laura whispered "I check." as she saw the Ace/Queen/8 of Hearts, the Queen of Clubs and the Jack of Diamonds from the Big Blind.

"You have the first draw, Laurie." whispered Rick.

"Just 1 card for me, please." replied Laurie as she pitched the 7 into the discard pile and received the 10 of Hearts in exchange.

"I'll take 3 cards, please." added Laura as she pitched the Ace/Jack/8 into the discard pile and received the Queen/9 of Diamonds and the 7 of Clubs in exchange (making a 3 of a kind).

"Your option, Laurie." announced Rick.

Laurie quietly shoved all of remaining chips into the pot. Rick took a moment to quickly count them before turning to Laura and whispering "234 more to you."

Laura went into the tank, thinking:

" _Is she serious? I don't have to be Gloria the fortune teller to know that Laurie is bluffing her ass off."_

"I call." replied Laura.

"Shit." replied Laurie.

"Time to show your cards, ladies." declared Rick.

"I only have Ace high, my flush is busted." announced Laurie as she turned her cards face up.

"I have a set of Queens." replied Laura as she revealed her hand. She immediately began raking in the pot of 508.

"And I'm out on the bubble. No worries, goodnight guys. Try to finish before I come back exhausted from dancing the night away."

"Night Laurie." replied Rick and Laura simultaneously as Laurie left the room.

Chip stacks for the table: Laura – 621, Rick – 179

Level 7, Final Table = 20-40 blinds

Hand #1 began with Laura announcing "Raise. 120 total." from the Button/Small Blind with the King/3 of Spades, the 9 of Hearts and the 8/3 of Diamonds. Rick merely shrugged and announced "I'm all-in. It's only another 59 to you, Laura." from the Big Blind with the Queen/4 of Clubs, Queen of Hearts, 8 of Spades and the 7 of Diamonds.

"I call." replied Laura as she nodded, having already expected this.

"My first draw? OK, I'll take 3 cards, please." declared Rick as he pitched the 8/7/4 into the discard pile and received the Queen/9 of Diamonds and the 2 of Clubs in exchange (making a three of a kind).

"I will also take three cards, please." replied Laura as she pitched the King/9/8 into the discard pile and received the 7/5 of Clubs and 6 of Diamonds in exchange.

"I'm already all-in so we might as well just turn our hands over, I have 3 Queens." announced Rick as he showed his hand.

"Beats my pair of 3's. You live to fight another day, Rick." replied Laura as she threw her hand into the muck.

Hand #2 began with Rick announcing "I'm all-in again. It's 318 more for you to call, Laura." from the Button/Small Blind with the Queen/8 of Clubs, the Queen of Hearts, the 6 of Spades and the 4 of Diamonds. Laura merely smiled and announced "I call." from the Big Blind with the 9/4 of Spades, 9 of Hearts, 7 of Diamonds and the 4 of Clubs.

"1 card for me, please." declared Laura as she pitched the 7 into the discard pile and received the Ace of Clubs in exchange.

"I'll take three cards, please." replied Rick as he pitched the 8/6/4 into the discard pile and received the Queen/8/2 of Spades in exchange (making a three of a kind, his second consecutive hand of 3 Queens).

"I'm already all-in so we might as well just turn our hands over, you're first." announced Rick.

"I have Two Pairs, 9's and 4's." replied Laura as she turned her hand face up.

"No good, I have three Queens again." announced Rick as he turned his hand face up. Laura was (understandably) horrified as she was now severely short stacked.

"I know your hands weren't exactly the same and that you would never cheat one of us but can I have a splash, please?"

"Of course." responded Rick (who actually expected her to ask that in light of what just happened these last 2 hands). He spread all of the cards in random directions face down on the table, resetting them into a deck about 2 minutes later.

Hand #3 began with Laura announcing "I'm all-in this time. 84 total." from the Button/Small Blind with the Jack/9/5 of Spades, the Jack of Hearts and the Jack of Clubs (making a three of a kind before the draw phase). Rick announced "I call." from the Big Blind with the 7/4 of Spades, the 7/3 of Diamonds and the 10 of Hearts.

"My first draw? OK, I'll take 3 cards, please." declared Rick as he pitched the 10/4/3 into the discard pile and received the 7/6 of Hearts and the 7 of Clubs in exchange (making a 4 of a kind, his second of the evening).

"I will take 2 cards, please." replied Laura as she pitched the 9/5 into the discard pile and received the 10 of Spades and 5 of Clubs in exchange.

"You're all-in so we might as well just turn up our cards. I'm first, and I have Four Sevens." announced Rick as he showed his hand.

"Oh my God. You beat my trip Jacks, you made your comeback." replied Laura as she threw her hand into the muck. Rick raked in the last 84 in chips with a huge grin on his face. He then stood up and hugged Laura.

"You played great, I just got really lucky in the end." he whispered.

"Thank you. My money, please?" she replied.

Rick nodded and walked over to the money pile, separating 60 out of the money pile for Laura, then put the rest in his pocket.

"Thank you and goodnight, unless you want some help packing up." offered Laura.

"No thanks, I can pack up on my own, go get some sleep. We board the steamship out of Cairo tomorrow morning" ordered Rick.

Laura nodded and took her leave, silently leaving to go back to her room.

A few hours later, Gloria woke up in her head, screaming.

"Gloria, what's wrong?" asked Joe, tempted to scream out for help to get her to the local chemist.

"Remember those visions that Olivia had the other night?" she asked while crying.

Megan, Joe and Tyrone only nodded. All 3 of them had heard about Olivia's episode with David F. In the hallway shortly after the pot-limit game had ended.

"All I see are 3 images on a loop: Some of them in one place, dancing in a poorly lit club to music that I can't even begin to comprehend. Others are driving around in...small 1-person carriages without horses or camels...for sport? And the image of 3 planets crashing into each other. It's OK, they're gone now. But they're the exact same images that Olivia saw."

"Will you be alright?" asked Tyrone.

"I think so, yes." replied Gloria

"Are you sure?" asked Megan.

"Yes, I'll be fine." nodded Gloria reassuringly. They each went back to sleep without any further incident.

Chapter 7: A Steamship to Athens

 _Song to put on: Rage Against The Machine – Wake Up_

Contortionist Kate awoke in her bed before the sun had even risen on the final morning of the legends circus live in Cairo, surprised to find that her bed was only occupied by her (which was not true just a few hours ago). She smiled, grateful for the intimacy, however fleeting.

" _I guess religion, even in Egypt, must make way for sins of the flesh from time to time...regardless of gender."_ she thought to herself. It took her all of 2 minutes to survey her hotel room to assess the status of her roommates. David F. and Miriam were both asleep (though David of all people was tossing and turning).

"WAKE UP GUYS, WE HAVE AN HOUR TO PACK BEFORE WE HEAD FOR THE PIER!"

Both were awake almost immediately, and Miriam was by far the crankiest.

"Oh god, you're the one who was first out in the freaks game?" she asked. Kate merely nodded.

"Do either one of you know where Isaac is? I didn't even hear him wake up." asked Kate.

"He went to the city telegraph office a while ago." mumbled David.

"They have one here?" asked Kate, completely shocked.

"Yeah, he said he had to send a report of our time here back home, then one to the Mayor of Athens informing her of our arrival in a few days. He'll meet us at the pier just as soon as he's finished." replied David who was struggling to find his pants.

"That is a pretty standard thing for Isaac to do, isn't it?" asked Miriam.

Kate nodded before answering "In cities where they have the facilities, either he or Ringmaster Joe does it. OK, clothes on and belongings packed in 10 minutes, understand?"

David and Miriam nodded, only to be ignored by Kate who had already begun packing to leave before going to wake up the rest of the circus in the other 3 rooms.

Isaac was at the city telegraph office alright, but not for anything close to the reasons that he told David a couple of hours earlier. There was only 1 worker there, a young lady who was short and thin in stature. With it still being technically nighttime outside, Isaac couldn't make out anything else on account of the entire street not being particularly well lit.

"هل تتكلم الانجليزية؟ (Do you speak English?)" he asked, glad that he could use his 1 Arabic phrase at last.

"Yes, it's required to speak English in this line of work no matter where you are in the world."

"Very good, sorry to disturb you at this late hour but I have a long one to send abroad." Isaac said as he took out a 100 Egyptian pound note, which widened this lady's eyes.

"Oh even if I were upset about your business, I would forgive you. Where will you be sending it?"

"North American continent, Colorado Territory, Denver Township. Is that too far for you?" Isaac asked.

She shook her head before responding "We can send as far as Paris with our equipment with instructions to forward it to the office in New York who can then send it the rest of the way. It'll take several days for it to arrive, if not a full week unless you mark it urgent." she finished by rubbing her thumb across her fingers.

"Oh yes please. I'll begin when you're ready." stated Isaac. She walked over to the telegraph and had already began tapping it before Isaac spoke (Isaac to his credit, knew that she sent the word "Urgent" first)

"Go." she ordered, Isaac obliged:

"They are in position -STOP- more or less oblivious to what is going on -STOP- it will all be over before the end of Athens."

The pause in Isaac's speech indicated that his message was finished. She added the additional codes needed for Paris, New York and finally Denver (with applicable -STOPS- between each town so that the recipients knew where to forward the message.

"OK, 23 words, marked urgent and 3 destinations...that'll be an even 90 pounds." she quoted after a minute of adding the charges together in her mind. Isaac merely slid her the 100 pound note, whispered "Keep the change, enjoy your morning." before heading for the pier, alone.

With her own room down, Kate had already packed whatever belongings she had that weren't in storage and moved on to the second room. The trick was to wake everyone in the circus without waking up any of the other guests in the hotel who are not associated with the circus. Thankfully, she could cross that bridge at a later time, as the next room in her travels already had its' door unlocked. She decided just to run in and get it over with:

"DAVID K, JAMES, LAURA AND OLIVIA: EVERYONE GET UP, LET'S GO, LET'S GO, LET'S GO!"

The four in the room slowly got up (while Kate struggled to remember who had said "Let's Go!, Let's Go!, Let's Go!" somewhere in her past, or maybe her past readings). Olivia was the first to be something resembling fully awake.

"Wow, my first good night of sleep in Cairo and it's my last night here."

Kate smiled and nodded. "It was like that for me with my first few cities, too. Anyways, could be worse, your shoulder could've kept you awake all night."

"It didn't, but the laudanum has definitely worn off now, OW!"

"Could we stop by the chemist for her on the way to the pier?" asked David K. Who was empathizing with Olivia's pain.

James shook his head. "It's the opposite end of town, we'd miss the steamship by at least an hour. Besides, we don't want to turn Olivia into a junkie."

Olivia had a worried look on her face, as she dreaded even the idea of not being in full control of her mind. Laura sensed a need to calm Olivia down. "Don't worry, your shoulder will be fully healed by the time we reach Athens. In fact, I'll carry your bag for you so you can avoid heavy lifting for a while. You just have the one bag, right?"

Olivia nodded, and silently mouthed the words "Thank you" to her. Kate was satisfied "OK, clothes on and belongings packed in 10 minutes, understand?"

Everyone nodded, with Laura relieved that Olivia had no heavy belongings.

It was a short walk for Isaac from the City Telegraph office, only a kilometre or so to the northeast. But he knew that he had some time before his companions were even close to checking out of the hotel, so he decided to enjoy the town while he could. At 5 in the morning or so local time, that was a tad difficult. Most of the businesses that he saw were right in between their closing time and opening time (and the few that were open mostly shouldn't have been save for the Telegraph and the Post Office). Most of these open businesses gave Isaac the creeps, as he saw no need to engage in the consumption of poison or human companionship of strangers that he in no way cared about. Still, there was something comforting in knowing that these places existed, even in Egypt.

"This place really isn't that different than back home. Still, worlds need to change."

With 2 rooms down and 2 to go, Kate walked by a room with other guests that had its' door open and noticed that the sun was starting to come up...

...and flicker in and out of existence. Kate shook her head, trying to trick her brain into thinking that she didn't see that. To their credit (or possibly peril), the guests in that room (none of whom Kate could make out particularly well) didn't seem to notice.

"Sorry if I woke you." she offered to them. If they understood English, they didn't look the part. Kate paid them no further mind and continued to room #3, and the door was open here too. Kate accepted that turn of good fortune, and ran straight inside:

"FABIO, LUCAS, JEANIE, LAURIE AND RICK, TIME TO GET UP AND OH MY GOD WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SMELL?"

Everyone in the room was already awake, and holding their noses. Rick was the first to try to explain

"Well, I'm not sure if you noticed during the poker game last night, but our room is the only one that we booked that faces the cemetery. Today is apparently the day when they dump not really fresh bodies into newly dug graves."

Kate walked over to the window, and sure enough, there were several pallbearers tossing a not-so-fresh corpse 2 metres deep into the ground. The window itself couldn't stop the smell from reaching this side of the hotel, even though the cemetery was at least 50 metres away, if not 100.

"We should bring this up to the front desk when we're checking out." offered Fabio.

"I'm reasonably sure that the staff knows about this already." countered Lucas.

Jeanie was worried about deeper ramifications "They still should've at least informed Joe as we checked in as to what was going to happen. I mean, that corpse could have dysentery, smallpox, you name it. And if we bring that shit to Athens..."

Laurie however, was more pragmatic "We wouldn't be sick by Athens. We'd already be sick now just by being this close to the graves. But Fabio is right, we need to inform the front desk of the smell. Management can buy a second window for each room on this side of the hotel with the money that he's making off of us alone."

Kate was desperate to change the subject, if only slightly "Let's not think about this, actually let's not tell the front desk as we're already leaving Africa today. Or, use it to motivate you to get dressed and packed faster."

With 1 left turn, Isaac was now on Anuket street which would take him straight to the pier. Like Kate back at the hotel, he also noticed the sun flickering in and out of existence. He chose to ignore it, seemingly indifferent about what it could possibly mean. Suddenly, he was waved in by an older gentleman wearing a white apron over a dark blue shirt and black pants. Based on the smells behind this man, Isaac deduced that this was the town baker (a business he knew had to be up early in order to take care of morning customers and deliveries). Isaac smiled, as he could tell that this man meant no harm to him.

"Morning sir, how are you?" asked Isaac as he bowed.

"I make muffins for first time. You try, free free." this baker replied as he ran back into his shop. Isaac opted to wait outside, as he didn't want to get burned on the baker's equipment or some such by accident. The baker returned a minute later with a brown cloth bag. Isaac (wanting to show appreciation), reached inside, grabbing one right away. Admittedly, it was a little thin compared to the muffins that Isaac had in his lifetime, but he said nothing, as it was this baker's first try. He quickly took a bite, and was pleasantly surprised.

"Mmmmm, multigrain with carrot. Very good I like." said Isaac while rubbing his tummy. Both he and the baker exchanged bows before the baker went back inside his shop. Isaac stuck a 5 pound note in between the door while the baker wasn't looking.

"You earned it, pal." Isaac whispered before continuing to the pier.

"1 room left to go." whispered Kate as she re-entered the lobby. By now, she thought most of the floor was already up (which was actually a relief for her as there weren't too many people left to wake up by accident). That said, she was grateful that the last door (while closed) wasn't locked. Kate immediately turned the doorknob and ran inside:

"GLORIA, JOE, MEGAN AND TYRONE. IT'S TIME TO GET UP!"

Now either Joe was already awake, or was a light sleeper (neither would surprise Kate in the least at this point).

"I'm already dressed and packed." he declared as his roommates began waking up. Kate was relieved to hear the former, as the age gap made thought of seeing her ringmaster naked...awkward (to put it mildly).

"How is that possible?" asked Megan, who was starting to sit up.

"Because he could hear Isaac walking down the hall as he was leaving to go to the city telegraph earlier this morning." answered Gloria, evidently not needing to be fully awake in order for her enhanced intuition to be working.

"That doesn't surprise me at all. That son of a bitch has flat enough feet to wake me up sometimes." added Tyrone as a young tall woman got out of his bed, put on a white robe and ran out of the room before anyone could make out anything else about save for her gender and height.

"Another satisfied magnusite?" asked Kate.

"Yes, but I call the lady fans magnusitas." replied Tyrone.

"Well whatever the fuck you call them, I want everyone who's not Joe to be dressed and packed in 10 minutes, understood?"

They nodded, and Kate headed for the front desk, alone.

"Hey baby, you want pleasure? We give you foreign customer discount."

"NO, GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!" screamed Isaac in a rare episode of anger. He had no idea what drew those dirty prostitutes toward him, but he was grateful when the man who ran the ticket department of the boat pier chased after them carrying a board with a nail in it.

"Are you OK sir?" he asked Isaac.

"Yes sir, thank you." Isaac barely answered, still so scared that he had already blacked out what the dirty prostitutes looked like.

"Are you waiting for a boat?"

"Yes, to Athens. But 16 of my friends will be joining me shortly. I hope."

"Would you like to wait inside my booth? There's not much room but at least our whores will leave you alone."

"Thank you very much sir, that would be nice of you." mumbled Isaac as he walked close behind the ticket man.

It wasn't a long wait for Kate at the front desk for her 16 friends. Within 15 minutes, everyone had assembled and were awaiting the bill from Abdul. Joe was actually behind the desk with Abdul, going over line by line of the bill to ensure that there were no discrepancies.

"Everything in order sir?"

Joe nodded "Yes sir, perfect."

"Put it all on my tab." came a somewhat familiar voice.

"MAYOR HASSAN!" the entire circus shouted as one voice. He came in dressed in a brand new white suit, smiling from ear to ear. He was a changed man over these last few days, and by extension, so was his town.

"You made my city happy, it is the very least that we can do. Just let me sign and initial the bill...and there, you are free to leave whenever you wish. It was an honour having you in my Cairo over these last several days. Oh, Omar was called to an assignment at the pyramids so he wanted me hand you this"

Joe accepted a 25 square centimetre brown paper bag marked "delicate". Taking this into consideration, he gently tore where he saw the seal of the bag. Upon removing the contents, he smiled, as did the rest of the circus.

"Our first group photograph. Please extend our gratitude to Omar, I've always loved photography."

"I will tell him personally. Farewell and thank you, legends circus!"

The entire circus bowed to the Mayor, which Joe extending his hand for shaking "Thank YOU sir, for the opportunity, hospitality, and your city to which are all of our friends now."

The circus turned and exited the front door to find that there supplies were already waiting for them out front, neatly packed in 3 white caravans with a dozen camels carrying each caravan, being driven by city police.

"They will take you straight to the pier...are you 1 person short this morning?" asked the Mayor.

Kate took the lead in answering "Yes, our trapeze man forwarded a glorious review of your fine city to our financial backer back home. With a little luck, he might come visit you soon."

"And he will be as welcome as you were. Farewell and safe travels to you all." replied the Mayor.

"Farewell sir, we'll be back as soon as we can." replied Joe. Most of the circus were happy for the free lodging, happy enough to not even consider reporting the smell of the dead bodies in Rick's room.

The mayor went back into the hotel to iron out a few more details as the circus boarded the caravan in front (which was completely empty, probably at the mayor's request in order to ensure comfort).

"Are you all secure?" asked the driver. After 16 nods, the journey to the pier began.

"So where are you headed from here, Mr. Tong?" asked the ticket man.

"Athens sir, I'm a trapeze man for..."

"...the legends circus. I caught your first show, it was very impressive."

Isaac blushed ever so slightly "Oh thank you, it was a team effort."

"Anyways, the ship should be here in about 5 minutes. When your friends meet you, tell them to allow passengers who are getting off the boat to get off first."

"I'll do that. Here they come now." declared Isaac as he pointed to 3 White caravans approaching from the South.

"Oh wow, a police escort." said the ticket man, impressed. A few minutes later, Isaac was reunited.

"Get the telegraph sent?" asked Tyrone.

"Indeed I did. OK, do you guys see that?"

 _Song to put on: Buckethead – Phantom Steamboat_

The entire circus did in fact see what Isaac was seeing: Their boat that they were waiting for pulling up to the Nile harbour, but 2 other boats of varying design (1 in front of their boat and 1 behind it) that were...ghostly. They then faded out of existence, then back again.

"Dummy up, guys. Looks like no one else sees it but us. Let the passengers out first." ordered Isaac. The rest of the circus obliged. There were only 8 or 9 people getting off in Cairo, and none were carrying anything close to what the legends circus was carrying. The ticket man did a headcount "OK. 17 adults, massive luggage. That'll be 385 Egyptian Pounds as we're having a group discount."

Isaac walked over to Joe "Sir, I have a favour to ask: He actually sheltered me from 2 seedy...ladies of ill-repute."

Joe turned to the ticket man and asked "You did?"

The ticket man nodded.

"May I just...give 400 and let him keep the change?" asked Isaac.

Joe nodded "Of course, it's only fair."

"Thank you." replied Isaac as he walked over to the ticket man, taking out four 100 pound notes and handing them over.

"No change." Isaac barely added as the ticket man whistled twice. Within 1 minute, several large men came out from the lower deck of the ship.

"Load the caravans for these nice people, double time." shouted the ticket man. They nodded, and with the help of the police officers who drove them, had everything loaded in what seemed like no time at all. Once the last tarp was offloaded, Joe silently nodded to the police officers (who took that as their cue to drive off with the camels and empty caravans back to the police station. Olivia saw that the ticket man was arguing with the ship's captain.

"Is something wrong?" she asked. The captain walked back towards his ship before the ticket man answered "Yes, the general admission quarters are all fully booked. I told them that there were 17 of you coming aboard, so he just said...take the empty first-class quarters as no one is in them, I'm not charging you any more money though, because he owes me a favour."

Olivia was happy, but cautious "Won't the first-class quarters then be oversold?"

"No, Athens is the last stop."

Laurie then entered the conversation "Is there a currency exchange office on board?"

"The dining room has one but be sure to only use it when no meals are served in order to avoid upsetting the other passengers."

"We will, thank you sir." said Olivia.

They bowed at the ticket man as the circus boarded the steamship. It was a 5 deck model: A lower deck where ships operations were done, the main deck (which stored larger items for guests on the inside and was an observation deck on the outside. Upper deck 1 was the dining room and ballroom, Upper deck 2 were the general quarters and the last Upper deck were the first-class quarters. The turbine at the rear was painted bright orange while the rest of the ship was white with black trim painted here and there. The circus (as one combined unit) found a spiral staircase made of solid steel, but it was narrow so everyone travelled to the dining room single file. When they reached it, it was painted solid gold from floor to ceiling with 3 chandeliers lighting it. The tables and chairs were all put away on the right side of the room.

"Currency?" asked a uniformed crew member. He was around Joe's height, black hair, newly polished shoes and sounding very French.

"Yes. Egyptian pounds to Greek Drachmas. What's the rate?" asked Gloria.

It took a moment for him to remember "1 pound to 4 drachmas. Do you have a lot to change?"

Isaac took out a green crocodile-skin wallet that was over 5 centimetres thick "And that's NOT counting individual needs."

It took the better the better part of 2 hours in order to change all of their money over to drachmas (the ship even set sail in that time), so they celebrated with a round of coffee on the starboard side of the main deck as they entered the Mediterranean sea.

"I will never enjoy a shade of blue more than I enjoy this ocean." whispered Joe.

"Most of us didn't get to do what we wanted and it was still some of our best shows ever." declared James, the rest of the circus nodded in agreement.

"So ringmaster, where to after Athens?" asked Rick.

"1-month residency in Berlin, maybe a few nights in Paris if we get the telegram while we're there. Thankfully my French and German are pretty solid, moreso than my Arabic anyway. I'm actually quite grateful for the number of English speaking citizens in Cairo." replied Joe thoughtfully.

"So am I, come to think of it. It's almost as if Aaron was writing this and was unsure he could properly translate English to Arabic like he has with other languages in other stories." interjected Isaac while looking at you, constant reader old chum.

Unfortunately, not even the typical 4th wall breaking shenanigans of Mr. Isaac Tong was enough to prepare them for what happened next: Phantoms re-appeared, but not of the ship, but of other people. People that seemed familiar and unfamiliar to our circus at the same time.

 _Song to put on: Rush – Subdivisions_

Olivia didn't know any of the phantoms directly, and that saddened her (Though she could sense that a few of the phantoms knew no one in the circus as well. A phantom randomly waved at her and mouthed the words "Hi, my name is Maddie"). This was a shared experience amongst the entire circus, and she was more or less completely left out. Not entirely left out, as she knew that she was seeing phantoms of other people a friend of hers called...the Aaronverse. With little in the way of options, she elected to lean against the railing of the ship and watch the other 16 of the circus try to sift through who knew who. "I know that I know them on Aaronworld-Prime...but that's all." she whispered to herself.

David F. (in some form or another), knew almost all of the phantoms. To his left, he saw a young woman who was shorter than he was and whose hair kept changing colour (he silently guessed that her name was Jen), a much older woman whose hair was halfway through the greying process (that almost everyone seeing these phantoms knew to be Lindsay, Aaron's mom). To David F's right was someone older than him, black hair, and someone he knew of indirectly since he was a small child ("Thom? Is that him?" he asked himself), a shorter but still older gentlemen that he distinctly smelled paint around ("Jason is my best guess" he whispered), and a girl his age who was even shorter than the possible Jen that for some reason unbeknownst to him, he knew that this girl liked a game called baseball (Melinda was the name that he saw in his mind).

Miriam only saw 2 phantoms that she recognized. But they were 2 that she knew were her best friends across dozens, if not hundreds of worlds (just not this one).

"At last I see the Amy and Mary before me that Aaron has only described in fleeting moments of manic creative brainstorming."

Laurie was in tears, tears of both joy and relief: "There really are other places where my Allan is still alive." as she saw a young man with long blonde hair in his early 20's that she knew was her son, all grown up on an alternate earth.

David K., Jeanie and Gloria each seemed to see their visions in sync with the other 2 people. First was an older, stout gentleman with greying hair and a black stetson cowboy hat (that both knew was named Ricky, and that 1 was married to him in some places, but it wasn't Gloria or David K.), another man of similar age and appearance but with a penchant for wearing black (David K. Had the word "Rudy" come to his mind briefly). Finally, there was a middle aged woman of whom all 3 were vaguely familiar with, but mostly Gloria ("Is this the Jane that I know elsewhere?" she asked inside her mind).

Isaac knew of many of the visions in front of him, but only 2 stood out as people he met in person. The first was someone he knew through days on another world (or 100) through school.

"Hello Adam, pity you don't exist here."

The second was someone that he met through a party, who he (on some level) respected as living a life of sobriety ("Gregg? Is that how you spell your first name?") Isaac asked, totally confused.

Tyrone was in a situation nearly identical to that of Olivia, but saw 1 lady a few years younger than him that he knew of indirectly, cradling the remnants of a small child in her arms that needed no introduction. Sensing an urgency to help this phantom on some level, Tyrone waved at the lady in an effort to get her attention...and he got it immediately. Something else also clicked in his brain, that sound was irrelevant to these phantoms and that mouthing the words would suffice:

"Heather, The pirate is working on it. The Skull Girl will be fixed."

He hoped that it was enough for her.

Laura knew a few: On her right was a woman slightly older than she was who had the blackest hair that she had ever seen ("Tamara?" she asked herself). Moving left, she saw a trio of younger ladies from completely different parts of the world that they live on but still connected via some sort of collective that did significantly more harm than good to its' followers:

"So there really is a Holly, a Julie and a Jess somewhere? I kind of thought they'd be taller."

James took notice of only 2: A couple, separated by Aaronworlds, who still found each other:

"Good to see that there are many Justins and Krystals together."

He smiled faintly, despite knowing that there was something inherently wrong in seeing them at all.

Megan and 1 phantom walked around each other in circles. Each of them didn't know who the other was, but they were of nearly identical height, body type and interests. Each of them jumped back as they guessed the others' name:

"Amanda Williams?"

"Megan Hayes?"

2 phantoms were sitting to themselves, curled in the fetal position and rocking back in forth, facing each other. Kate sought both of them out, recognizing 1 from Aaron describing his 2 pieces of trademark clothing: A bucket and a plain white mask. The other she knew lived close to her in nearly every Aaronworld where both of them existed.

"No need to be scared, Buckethead...and Sherry."

Rick waved at 2 lady phantoms, who waved back at him in kind. He felt a need to protect them, but knew that he couldn't (given the situation at hand). He also knew that one was his wife somewhere (or somewheres, as Aaron put it), and another he raised as his own child.

"I finally have seen my Cindy and her Tara. Whatever's going on, thank you Mr. Commentator...why is the word commentator in my head all of a sudden?"

Fabio and Lucas merely stood and cried as 1 phantom tried to touch them, but kept walking through them. It was an equal amount of heartbreak and frustration that was in the minds of all concerned. Although this red-haired lady phantom occasionally glimpsed at Lucas in confusion, as if he was new to her.

"My soulmate Chiara, he and I are as one on this world. But nowhere near the level you and I are as one in a lot of other places. My Phoenix, my beloved Phoenix."

Joe divided his attention amongst 4 phantoms: 2 of them focused on each other like they were in love, 1 of them seemed to be enjoying some food (Goulash was Joe's best guess), and the last of them seemed to be rolling multiple, different shaped dice randomly. They all then turned their attention to Joe, as he pointed at each of them individually to guess their names:

"Dan and Laura Dotson (and both of you married in a lot of the places that Aaron writes)...OK, you're...John Luke? We've...done business together on some Aaronworlds somewhere, I think. And you...must be Dani Stafford. I don't know what a film is, but I know you hope to make one of all of us in this Aaronverse someday thanks to a different you and a different me meeting through Aaron..."

The visions then ceased to be, leaving our circus to stare at themselves with no one knowing the full extent as to what happened.

"Aaron, wherever you are...make this right, in all of the Aaronverse." said Joe as he stared into the Mediterranean sky, knowing the other 16 were thinking that sentiment as well.


End file.
